The Newlywed Game
by SilentStarlightSky
Summary: General Caraway contracts SeeD to go on an undercover mission in Deling City to uncover a ring of recent kidnappings centered around wealthy married women. Rinoa isn't happy to be left behind on Caraway and Squall's insistence, especially when Squall and Quistis are pretending to be a married couple. (Squinoa, but also SquallxQuistis, IrvinexSelphie, and poor Zell is on his own.)
1. Chapter 1

(Disclaimer for the entire story: This is a work of fanfiction. I do NOT own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is just for fun.)

Chapter 1 - The Mission

Midmorning sun filtered into the room through the windows. Although the day was wonderfully bright and sunny Squall found himself in the same place he always was at that time, in his office working hard. He didn't mind hard work, but he still preferred the kind where his gunblade skills were used. At least that way he got some physical exercise, and then he didn't have to worry about constantly staying fit. Being a gunblade specialist would be completely useless if he wasn't strong enough to lift the heavy thing.

Squall almost had to stifle a sigh as he looked over at the mounting pile of papers sitting on his wooden desk. He sat and sifted through them all. He'd been going over a pile of SeeD requests that had been coming from all over the globe. Although Ultimecia had been defeated nearly a year ago, there was still a lot of unrest. A vacuum of power had been left in her wake. Many regional skirmishes over boundary lines had popped up in addition to the overflow of monsters left from the Lunar Cry. SeeD was in high demand, and consequently he was extremely busy.

His fingers clutched at another stack of papers, but his blue-gray eyes kept flicking between mission requests and the figure sleeping peacefully on his office couch with a book half open beside her.

He checked the clock. It was 10:30 am.

 _Rinoa's midmorning nap strikes again,_ he thought to himself.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds in the room were those of papers rustling and her rhythmic breathing. He was trying to sort the mission requests in terms of urgency and monetary reimbursement for Garden, but he was getting distracted by her. She was curled up on her side with her face pressed into the black leather of the couch, somehow making an aesthetically pleasing lump. Her soft breathy snores were calming him and lulling him to sleep, but he needed to stay sharp and focused. He couldn't take a nap any more than he could waste time staring at her rosy face. He had too many things to do.

Maybe if Rinoa was awake, she could help him sort these missions. It wouldn't be that hard for her, and he'd be the one to make the final call. Technically she shouldn't be helping like that because she wasn't military, but she had a lot of free time and he could use an assistant. He had enough military style SeeD training for the both of them.

While Squall sat pondering whether or not to dare wake a sleeping Rinoa, his office phone rang. The ring was high and clear, louder than any wake-up alarm. Her breathing got restless and her body started to turn over slightly with an annoyed groan. Squall watched her quietly and waited for the phone to ring a few more times before taking it off the receiver carefully.

"Commander Leonhart speaking," he said tonelessly, breaking the room's near silence.

Few people had a direct line to his office, so it was either from someone within Garden or an important military official or dignitary. The voice on the other end was instantly familiar. Squall steeled himself. It was a confident and authoritative tone that was unmistakable as any other than General Fury Caraway's.

"Commander, I'm calling on behalf of Deling City," Caraway stated.

 _Rinoa's father. Maybe she would want to listen to this._

Squall licked his dry lips and reached out to press the speaker button on the phone.

"Deling City is making a request for SeeD," Caraway's voice resonated through the speaker.

Squall nodded, although Caraway couldn't see it.

Rinoa had started to wake up. Before she was just stirring, but now Squall could see that her head was turned to listen to the phone conversation. Her sleepy, half-lidded eyes met his. He lifted his finger to his lips to signify for Rinoa to remain silent. Her dark eyebrows raised in confusion at hearing the sound of her father's voice. Any interactions between the Commander and the General had been tense at best. She waited with bated breath.

 _Well, I dared to let her sleep get disturbed, hopefully I won't regret this,_ Squall thought.

He knew that the relationship between Rinoa and her father had been strained for a long time. He didn't like the man personally, but he respected his command abilities.

"There have been a series of kidnappings of wealthy women, and the local police have not been able to apprehend the culprits. The motivation seems to be solely for ransom money. The women who did not have the ransom money raised on their behalf have been brutally beaten and dumped in the Dingo Desert. Luckily, none of the women have died, but that could change at any time. The news outlets have warned women to stay indoors or travel in groups. The local citizenry are getting to be very uneasy about this, and the local government decided that we should bring SeeD in before this gets further out of hand. The citizens need their peace of mind."

Caraway's speech sounded rehearsed. The substance was all there, but Squall was unsure if he was purposely leaving some piece of information out.

This proposed mission seemed more intriguing than the usual monster hunting jobs they had been getting lately. He probably shouldn't assign it to any of the newer rookie SeeDs. Actually, he'd love to get away from his desk for awhile.

"I understand that this is a concern for your city sir," Squall responded with interest. "I'll need a more in-depth proposal for SeeD before we can draw up a contract for you, but it sounds like a mission I would... I mean, Garden would accept."

"Yes, I'll have an information docket sent over for your approval Leonhart. Then we can get down to business and catch these kidnappers."

"Any suspects?" Squall asked.

A long awkward pause followed.

"No..." Caraway replied. Squall thought that there was more to the answer, but felt it wasn't the time or place to press him further. "Oh and Leonhart, I've heard rumors that my daughter is over at Garden with you, and I don't think I should have to say this... but I will. I do NOT want her involved in this mission, she doesn't need to be endangered."

Rinoa shot up from the couch and approached Squall's desk. She'd been progressively paying more attention as she woke up.

"I can take care of myself CARAWAY!" she yelled hotly into the speaker phone. Her voice clearly had the deep huskiness of sleep still in it.

Squall put his hand up to his face, knowing that nothing good would come of this conversation once she'd started yelling. He didn't even want Caraway to know she was listening.

"Well, I see the rumors are indeed true. Leonhart, I insist that you don't involve her with this mission. I'm hiring SeeD to do this to protect young women like her, and I won't stand by and have her put in harm's way... no matter what life choices she's made for herself," he said severely.

"You're unbelievable!" Rinoa started before being interrupted by Squall.

Squall's one choice was to quickly end the conversation and hope that Rinoa didn't get too mad at him. He hated to do it but he had to agree with Caraway's assessment of the situation.

"We are in agreement sir," Squall responded. "I will be waiting for the information to be emailed to me. I'll keep in touch. Goodbye."

Squall reached out and hastily ended the call. He pressed his finger down so hard on the button that the phone fell off the receiver with a loud clatter. His hands quickly worked to fix the phone before turning towards Rinoa, who was now seething with rage.

"I can't believe you are agreeing with THAT MAN! What right do either of you have to tell me what I can and can't do?!" Rinoa said.

"Rinoa, he's hiring SeeD for a mission. You aren't SeeD. There's nothing to be angry about," Squall stated while hoping that her anger would cool off. If anybody pushed against her, she made sure to push back. He wanted to make the decision seem rational and not personal, which it partially was. He kept his mind shut to her so she couldn't sense his worry.

It wasn't that he wanted to side with Caraway against her. They both were just concerned about her safety. Squall genuinely cared about her, and Caraway was concerned about his own daughter on some level. It was hard to discern what his motivations were. Whether from familial affection or protecting his own reputation, he certainly didn't want his own daughter being a target in his city.

Rinoa's dark eyes continued to glare at Squall. He pretended to be looking down at his papers for a few minutes, but she didn't budge from her spot. He finally heaved out a sigh and looked up at her.

"Rin, please don't fight over this. You aren't a SeeD. Trained SeeDs would be the best choice to get this situation quickly and efficiently handled. More women don't need to be kidnapped and beaten."

Those were logical statements. Hopefully she wouldn't argue with straightforward logic.

Rinoa started to soften at the thought of the kidnapped women. She had a kindhearted nature, and she wanted the women of Deling City to be safe. Squall was right, she wasn't a SeeD and she didn't have their specific training. Her father had just rubbed her the wrong way, as usual.

"Well, even if I won't be going on the mission, can I at least listen in on your planning process?"

"Fine," Squall agreed. He was happy that she calmed down so quickly.

A little dinging sound on his computer alerted him to the fact that Caraway had emailed him an attachment with the necessary information. Squall clicked into it and started reading. Rinoa walked around his desk and leaned into his shoulder to read along. Her long hair fell over Squall's neck, tickling him and filling his nose with the scent of her shampoo. He kept silent and ignored the distraction. His eyebrows furrowed as he started formulating a mission plan. This would definitely be much more interesting than hunting monsters.

* * *

A few hours later Squall called Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine up to his office to discuss the upcoming mission. Rinoa sat on his leather couch while the others crowded around his desk. Out of the entire group, only Squall and Quistis were wearing SeeD uniforms. Everybody else was wearing their everyday casual wear.

"General Caraway has made a request for SeeD on behalf of Deling City. Women have been getting kidnapped, and we need to find and stop the kidnappers. I've been reviewing the information about this case, and it appears that all of the victims are young wealthy women. Once they've been kidnapped, the demands for ransom are sent to their husbands or families. If the demands are not met, the women have been badly beaten and dumped in the desert. Obviously, the wealthier citizens of Deling City are getting very alarmed and vocal about this problem. That's where we come in. I am proposing that we go undercover."

"Undercover? That sounds totally exciting!" Selphie said happily while clasping her hands together and hopping in the air. "It'll be just like when we infiltrated the missile base!"

"But if all the victims are young women, I mean... What are you saying here Squall? I hope you aren't gonna make me and Zell wear wigs and women's dresses..." Irvine chuckled nervously.

Selphie giggled while casting a side glance at Irvine. "Your hair is so long and luxurious, I don't think you'd be needing a wig Irvine. You'd naturally make a very convincing damsel in distress with your flowing hair and pretty eyelashes," she said while petting his long auburn ponytail. "You'd be a perfect trophy wife."

He frowned at her before looking back at Squall with distressed eyes.

"Squall?" Zell asked apprehensively while cracking his knuckles.

"As I was trying to say, all the victims have been wealthy married women in their 20s. After they get kidnapped, ransom demands get sent to their husbands or families. I'm proposing we go undercover as married COUPLES and try to get some of you kidnapped. If that happens, we can find out who is responsible and end this series of kidnappings."

"Oooh, we get to pretend to be rich married couples! That sounds like fun!" Selphie said with a bounce. "We're going to be living the high life." Selphie said while pretending to swirl a glass of champagne while holding up a monocle.

"Yes, it seems that our expenses would be covered for this job to ensure that we fit into the wealthier area of Deling City. We could start right away if we didn't have to plan to fit into a certain societal stratosphere... Preparations are already being made." Squall nodded to himself before continuing, "so now we have to decide how we are going to partner up for this."

A strange tension filled the air. A mad rush ensued to secure a good partner and not be the last person out took over. Nobody liked being left behind or the last one chosen.

"I got dibs on Irvine," Selphie yelled while grabbing his arm roughly and nearly knocking him down.

"I call Squall!" Quistis said quickly and louder than she intended to.

"I uh... I... AW MAN!" Zell yelled while looking down at the ground. He was the odd man out. "Wait, why don't I have a partner? Rinoa is over there on the couch, and there are six of us altogether," he said while pointing behind him at Rinoa. "I choose Rinoa?" Zell said tentatively and hopefully.

"The request was specifically made for SeeD. Rinoa will not be taking part in this mission," Squall explained while avoiding looking over at Rinoa.

"But Irvine isn't exactly..." Zell started to say. He saw the warning look in Squall's eyes, so he abandoned that thought. Zell looked down at the ground again. "Don't you think it would be more convincing if Rinoa came and partnered up with Squall because..."

"The request was made for SeeD," Quistis clarified.

Rinoa continued to stay silent while sitting on Squall's leather office couch. She looked over at Quistis with her brows creased and a worried expression on her face.

"Actually Zell, I think this works out the best, I was planning on having two couples and a rover. These two couples have different personalities and tastes which would make for a better chance that the kidnappers would snatch either Selphie or Quistis. I wasn't planning on having you partnered with anybody on this mission. Your facial tattoo would not make you a very convincing wealthy upper-class man," Squall said.

"Hey! Are you calling me low-class?!" Zell yelled while swinging his muscular arms wildly and looking for a fist fight.

"Oh Zell!" Selphie said while easily dodging his flailing limbs with grace, "you would stand out at a country club with that tattoo. We want to be able to elegantly fit in." She reached out and patted his twitching shoulder gently.

Zell calmed down a little bit, but his feelings were still hurt. Even if there was a reason, it hurt to not be picked to be somebody's partner. This was just like in school when everybody else picked a friend for a partner and he got left out, or worse, having to be paired with the teacher.

"Zell, you'll provide us with backup and surveillance from a remote location," Squall said.

"Remote location?" Zell asked.

"Yes, you'll be set up in an apartment separate from ours," Squall answered.

"Oooh, we're going to have our own little apartment! And we're going to pretend to be carefree rich newlyweds who are deeply, madly in love," Selphie said dramatically with her hand over her heart.

Irvine leaned down towards her, "not all of that has to be for pretend darlin'" Irvine said softly while giving her a little wet kiss on the lips. Selphie flushed and giggled while throwing her arms around his neck.

"Okay, let's stay professional here and not lose our focus. We are to be efficient and find these kidnappers quickly," Squall stated while clearly getting uncomfortable by Irvine's public display of affection towards Selphie. "I've arranged for simple back stories for each of us."

Squall handed out packets of information to each of them.

"Over the next few days we are going to secure wardrobes and furnished apartments for the duration of our mission. Xu will be helping us with this, so don't worry. Just start getting used to your aliases and back stories. Don't use your real names. We'll need to pick out new names. Choose one that you are comfortable with."

"Hey, let's use our porn-star names," Irvine said with his face lighting up.

Squall gave him a professional and stern glare from behind his heavy desk. Irvine's attitude was lax to say the least, and he didn't appreciate it.

Irvine raised his hands up at him defensively.

"What I meant was, there's a name game... maybe you've heard of it... where you take the name of a pet as your first name and the name of a street you grew up on as your last name. That's how you make up your pretend porn-star name."

 _Only you would know that,_ Squall thought. Irvine was no stranger to all topics related to porn.

Squall looked irritated and unimpressed, but Quistis stepped in to defend Irvine. She didn't think it would be fair for Squall to start reprimanding him already for a name game.

"Yes, actually I've heard of that silly game too." She took a deep breath and straightened her back. "Well, we have to start somewhere. Let's see what we get," she said.

"Okay, let's see. My name would be Butch Pine," Irvine said. He clearly had played this game before and given it some thought.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Squall said.

 _Or too pornographic,_ he thought. _Probably..._

"I'm gonna be Mrs. Pine!" Selphie sang while tilting her head to the side. "Mrs. Cassidy Pine! I had a hamster named Cassidy, she was the cutest, squeakiest little thing you ever saw!"

"I'm sure your hamster wouldn't be the cutest, squeakiest little thing I've ever seen," Irvine said while reaching out to grab Selphie by the ribs to make her squeak.

Selphie let out a peal of shrill breathless giggles while lightly pounding on his shoulders playfully with her balled-up fists.

Squall ran his hand through his messy brown hair testily. He'd only had Selphie and Irvine in his office for a short period of time and they were already making him crazy. Solitude sounded great right now. He wished he was alone in his office with only Rinoa's soft and soothing snoring again. He loved that sound. He wished he had an audio compilation of it to help with his stress levels. Sleeping Sorceress Sounds Vol. 1.

All this time Quistis had been in thought. Her hand rested on the hip of her crisp SeeD uniform.

"The Trepe family lived on River street, and they had a pet bird called Kiki. So I guess my name would be Kiki River. That sounds okay, maybe even rich and eccentric. How about you Squall? You probably never had a pet since you weren't ever adopted out."

Squall inwardly cringed at the reminder of not being wanted by a family at any time throughout his childhood. Quistis hadn't meant any harm, but it still was painful and he wanted to keep that pain hidden. He wanted to forge on ahead with the mission, so he took a deep breath and tried to delve into his GF weakened early childhood memories. It took him a minute.

"My name would be... Walter," he said with a sigh.

Zell let out a laugh. "You had a pet named Walter?"

Squall nodded his head wearily.

"Ellone would take me out to the beach at the orphanage in Centra and show me animals there. I remember seeing a turtle there sometimes. He would get scared and pull into his shell unless you were very careful and quiet. I named him Walter," Squall explained slowly.

Rinoa had been keeping quiet before, but she willed herself to not giggle at Squall naming a beach turtle a serious name like Walter. She turned towards the wall so he wouldn't be able to see her smiling face. It was just too cute. She'd wished she'd know him as a little boy, maybe his childhood wouldn't have been so sad with her to play with.

"Okay, so we have our names then. Butch and Cassidy Pine, and Walter and Kiki River! That worked out surprisingly well," Selphie said. "Wait, does Zell need one too? Maybe we should give him a name just in case. What's your porn-star name Zell?"

"Um, I guess my name would be... Cinnamon Sand," Zell said while shifting his feet uncomfortably.

Nobody said anything. After a moment, Selphie started giggling while covering her face with both hands and stomping her feet. Rinoa let out a small muffled laugh from where she sat on the couch.

"WHAT!? Ma had a cat named Cinnamon, and you all know her house is on Sand St. in Balamb!" Zell shouted with his entire face turning red right up to his hair roots.

"Okay, Zell's name will be Jack Smith," Squall said while wisely ignoring his other name idea. "Anyways, that's what his name will be if anybody asks, and they WON'T because he'll be undercover doing backup surveillance work for us."

Everybody looked up at each other, waiting for further instructions from Squall.

"Please go over your information packets and get ready to be shipped out in the next few days. If nobody has any questions right now, you are dismissed," Squall finished.

Selphie grabbed Irvine's arm and left Squall's office with a big grin on her face. She was clearly planning already. Quistis tried to keep a professional look on her face as she passed Rinoa on her way out, but she was visibly pleased at the turn of events. Rinoa purposely kept her head down as she passed. Zell gave a friendly wave of acknowledgement at Rinoa as he left and shut the office door behind him with a slam.

After they left, Squall turned his attention towards Rinoa. He noticed that she had been quiet throughout the mission briefing. He didn't really understand women, or people in general, but he had a feeling it wasn't a good type of quiet. After arranging the papers neatly on his desk he stood up and walked over to her. She continued to stay quiet and look at the floor. He took a seat on the couch next to her. The leather creaked nosily as he sat down and his hair fell into his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Squall asked while shaking his hair out of his face.

"I'm fine," she answered while touching her necklace.

"If we do our jobs efficiently, we should be able to apprehend the culprits quickly."

"How long do you expect the mission to take?" she asked.

"I doubt it would take more than a month," he answered.

"A MONTH!" Rinoa groaned while looking up at him. "I'm going to be left alone at Garden for a whole month? I can't even imagine what this is costing Deling City!"

And it wasn't just the time that she'd be left alone. She had to think about Squall pretending to be married to Quistis. It was no big secret that Quistis previously had feelings for Squall, maybe she still did. Selphie had told her many awkward stories on the matter. There were things that had happened before Rinoa and Squall had ever met. Quistis said that those feelings were sisterly, but they clearly weren't. Who did she think she was kidding? And Rinoa wasn't blind, she'd seen the elated look on Quistis' face when she got paired with Squall. It was making her get worried and somewhat jealous.

"We're trained professionals. We'll go there and get the job done. I'll come back when the situation is handled," he said while lightly waving his hand in the air like it was no big deal.

"I know you don't want me involved in the mission, but can't I at least come with you guys to Deling City?" Rinoa asked while trying to catch Squall's eyes.

"I don't want you endangering yourself," Squall said quietly.

 _Or endangering the mission success,_ he thought while crossing his arms.

"Is there anything else that's bothering you?" he asked.

"No, why would I be bothered," she said in an irritated voice. "You sided with my father against me this morning, and now I find out you are going to leave me at Garden alone for a month while you go off and pretend to be a young married couple with Quistis. Why would I have a problem with any of that?"

"Rinoa, we're professionals. This is a mission and..."

"Yes, I know you and Quistis take your missions very seriously. Hopefully you won't take your pretend marriage TOO seriously!"

Squall started to shift on the couch uncomfortably at her insinuations. He took a deep breath.

"Rinoa, we'll be working while we are there to discover who is kidnapping these women. Quistis and Selphie are going to be busy making themselves desirable targets. We are all going to be on the look-out for suspicious people constantly and trying to get information out of the locals. We'll be busy doing those sorts of things. It's not like we can just walk in there with our GFs and weapons and start destroying stuff. This requires planning and subterfuge. I can't just walk in there swinging my big fat sword that shoots off live bullets..."

Squall stopped abruptly.

 _Wow, that sounded incredibly sexual. How did I never notice that before about my gunblade? I hope Rinoa didn't notice what I just said! Oh no! What if I'm some sort of sexually repressed pervert? I better change the subject._

"...it's going to be hard work. We have to look the part and go to plays, concerts, and upper class parties to blend into society."

At least that's what Squall figured they'd be doing. He still needed to do some research on the matter.

"Sounds like a nice vacation to me," Rinoa said trying to hide the jealously that had been steadily increasing throughout the entire day.

"It's not a vacation, it's work. Since I'm going to be gone for awhile, would you like to do something nice like go out to dinner with me?" Squall said quickly while trying to smooth out his hair.

Rinoa turned towards him and looked him in the face. His nervousness was starting to show as he kept trying to tame his wild hair. She reached up and took a hold of his hand to stop him.

"That sounds nice. How about we make a fun dinner together in your apartment tonight?"

 _I wanna have some fun domestic happiness with Squall before he runs off to do this stuff with Quistis for a month!_ She thought to herself.

"Oh, sure... if that's what you'd want," he replied while pulling his hand back.

Rinoa gave a little smile while nodding up at him.

He was relieved to see her smile at him sweetly. Everything would be fine. He'd explained the mission to her, and she knew its importance. He didn't want to leave her, but there wasn't another feasible option. He'd work hard and get it solved as quickly as possible, the women of Deling City would be safer, and then he'd be able to come back to Garden. They'd be back to their routine of office work/napping in no time at all. It was a good plan, nothing would go wrong. Squall nodded to himself while avoiding thinking of Quistis.

Rinoa went back to reading for the next couple of hours while Squall finished work. As it became closer to evening, Rinoa excused herself and said that she wanted to freshen up and change for dinner.

"Sounds good. I will be done in an hour or so and then you can meet me at my apartment," Squall said.

Rinoa leisurely walked back to her room. Once she was there she started to rifle through her closet. She selected a casual yet flowy soft black cotton dress. She wanted to look nice for dinner, but not like she was TRYING to look nice. The illusion of effortless beauty. She took a quick shower, got dressed, and reapplied some light make-up. She had a silly hope that Squall would see how cute she was, and he would think to himself that he'd rather be pretend-married to her than Quistis. But he probably didn't think things like that. Actually, men probably didn't think things like that.

She looked herself in her mirror and judged that she looked good enough to leave for dinner. She exited her room and started walking towards his apartment. When she reached his door she lightly knocked. She wanted to just let herself in with her modified keycard, but she didn't want to abuse the privilege he'd given her. She had done that once... and there was a little accident... and well... Squall certainly was never going to forget it. He probably showered in a bathing suit now.

A muffled answer came from inside. Squall opened the door wearing an apron and let Rinoa inside. She took off her shoes, set her purse down, and then walked over to the middle of his living room. She looked around at the clean and immaculate place.

 _One of these day's I gonna have to ask Squall to help teach me to keep things organized. He keeps a nice home._

Her thoughts drifted quickly back to his upcoming mission and she posed the question that had been on her mind since she'd heard about it.

"Ever wonder what it would be like to be married?" Rinoa asked while Squall was walking back towards his kitchen.

"We've been properly trained for almost any mission Rinoa. As a cadet we had lectures about how two people act differently when they are married, dating, divorced, etc. Some of us are better actors than others."

He peered into his oven to check the food.

"That's not what I meant," Rinoa said.

"If we were married, how would you treat me?"she said.

"Why would I treat you different?" Squall said.

Rinoa wasted no time but walked up and hugged him.

"Wouldn't there be more of this." She kissed him. "And this." She hugged him as hard as she could. "And this," she said while trying to get her hand up the back of his shirt, while failing miserably because it was tucked into his pants and he had a heavy apron on top of it. Squall always had lots of armor on.

Squall didn't know how much further this was going to go. Rinoa was acting agitated and possessive, and he didn't know what she was going to try to do. Although he was much better than a year ago, he still didn't usually initiate contact or in some instances even return contact. It was just who he was. He probably was a lot like Walter the turtle. He was a high-functioning, yet damaged person. What did she want from him?

Knowing that this would be one of the last times he would be alone with her in a while, he bent down with the intention of returning a kiss. She smiled brightly at him as he bent towards her, and then her face lost some of its smile as his lips only connected with her forehead.

"Dinner will be ready shortly. Why don't you wash up in the bathroom and sit down at the table," Squall suggested.

Rinoa sighed and walked off to the bathroom. Cleanliness was important, but especially to Squall. When she returned from the bathroom Squall was plating up dinner.

"It smells delicious. What is it?" she asked.

"Some baked Balamb fish, sautéed green beans, and seasoned steamed rice. I'm sorry, I didn't have time to make something special," he apologized.

Rinoa gawked at the nice meal he'd prepared. He was good at following military orders, so recipe instructions must be a snap for him. If she was eating dinner over at Zell's, he'd probably just tell her to eat a cold hotdog straight out of the package. Sometimes Squall just seemed too dreamily perfect, but then she remembered his social skills. That sobered her. Actually he had a lot of mental quirks.

Squall removed his apron and placed it over the back of the chair. He then placed their plates at the table, and they sat down across from one another.

After Rinoa thanked Squall for dinner they began to eat. The food was great, it was nice to not always have to eat cafeteria food. While happily chewing her food she asked about his plans to catch the kidnappers. He perked up at that question because his work was something he was confident in. He started to talk without further prompting from her, a rare achievement.

Rinoa barely listened to him, and instead dreamed of a future where she would be Mrs. Leonhart. She was full of mixed emotions as she knew that this was a long way off, if she could even ever get him to consider the idea at all. Although they were still very young, it wasn't THAT crazy of an idea, the sorceress knight bond already had them tied to each other. Regular people could always get divorced, but their bond was forever as far as she knew. She was glad their bond mind-link wasn't open at the moment, she didn't want Squall to know her girlish fantasies about him. Thoughts of wedding plans skittered through her mind. And if he knew that she was already picking out baby names in her head while she was chewing her food, well that would certainly scare him off. Oh, she definitely had plans for him. Sometimes she felt like a silly little schoolgirl. She suddenly noticed she hadn't been listening to anything Squall had been saying about the mission.

"...Quistis and I will be renting a one bedroom luxury apartment," Squall said, unaware that Rinoa hadn't been paying attention.

"Oh, one bedroom huh?" she asked with growing irritation. "Will there only be ONE bed in that ONE bedroom?"

Squall stopped chewing his food and swallowed loudly.

 _I knew this was coming,_ he thought to himself while gripping his fork in his callused hand.

"I would assume so, as we are going undercover as a happy married couple," he answered her before taking a sip of water from a glass. His food had begun to stick in his throat.

"You're going to be under covers with Quistis, I mean undercover, right?" she said. "How far are you guys going to take this charade?"

"It's for the mission..." he stated.

"I guess ANYTHING for the mission..." she said snarkily.

"Seriously Rinoa!" he said while dropping his fork with a clatter. He grabbed at his forehead and took a deep breath. "I do things for a mission that you may find unacceptable, but I do them because it's my duty."

The nice feelings that Rinoa had earlier while making imaginary life plans with Squall quickly faded while picturing him in the same bed with Quistis. She shuddered to think that they would be getting under the covers together. Even if they were fully clothed in pajamas, a pang of jealously hit Rinoa.

"Well, is SeeD your only duty?" Rinoa said with hurt in her voice. Her emotions were starting to get the better of her. She pushed back her chair and turned around without looking, grabbed her purse and shoes and was out the door before Squall had even stood up.

She was able to hold back tears until she hit her room. Upon closing her door the floodgates opened and she allowed herself to cry. Becoming a sorceress had made her extra emotional. At least that's what she told herself. It was definitely the sorceress powers, and not the intense frustration of being Squall Leonhart's girlfriend. Probably.

How could somebody who looked that good be so messed up on the inside? He was far from normal, but she figured she was too, now at least. All of her friends had been changed by the war, but nobody more than her.

She flopped down on her bed to sulk.

As the evening went on she was further hurt that Squall didn't even try to contact her. Guilt weighed on her that she'd ruined dinner, but then she got angry again when she thought of Quistis. Squall was going away soon, and she didn't want to end on this sour note. It was a mess, and she was a mess of emotions. And on top of the hurt she was embarrassed by her own actions as well.

She spent the next couple of hours trying to calm her fears and to get some peace from the fact that Squall was professional. Her jealousy was bothering her, but she couldn't really imagine Squall cuddling up with Quistis. That seemed ridiculous.

 _Pfft, he barely cuddles me,_ she thought.

After taking Angelo out for a walk and getting ready for bed, she decided to call it a night. Why torture herself any longer that evening. She slipped beneath her pink comforter and picked up a boring book on the sorceress wars. That always helped her get to sleep quickly. She wasn't in the mood to read any more of the fluffy romance novel she was halfway through, it would just upset her further. After about ten minutes, maybe even sooner, she reached out to shut off her light, and then her eyelids closed and she fell asleep.

* * *

As her dream unfolded before her she was instantly aware that it was only a dream. Becoming a sorceress seemed to have heightened that ability. She was more likely to dream, and she was more likely to be able to tell a dream apart from reality now. She also had better control of her dream-self than she did before. In some instances she could even modify and control her dream depending on her emotional state. The only negative to all this was that she needed to be careful. Sometimes the sorceress knight bond was stronger while dreaming, and she didn't want to bleed over into Squall's dreams. He wouldn't appreciate that and neither would she. They had enough embarrassing and awkward moments when they were awake.

She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing the uniform of a housekeeper and carrying a tray filled with two plates of breakfast foods, complete with fancy little glasses filled with orange juice. A bell rang beckoning her to the room at the end of the hall. The high, shrill tinkle was grating to her ears with its constant insistence.

 _Oh, I don't like where this is going. Don't do this to me brain! Can't we work out our issues at a place other than my dreams?!_

She knew that it was going to be Squall's bedroom when she opened the door. But when she peered inside she was still shocked by what she saw. Just as she thought it was Squall sitting up in bed with Quistis, awaiting their breakfast. Quistis was wearing fancy dark red lingerie with the straps falling down around her pale shoulders and Squall was wearing his undershirt. That wasn't so bad, but for Squall that was nearly naked. Rinoa was getting irritated by her dream. They looked so happy together. Squall was smiling at Quistis. His smiles were beautiful and illusive rarities, she didn't like seeing one directed at Quistis, even in a dream.

"I thought you and Quistis were just pretending to be married," Rinoa said while deciding to get all her feelings out in the safety of her dream world. She needed to vent some steam.

"We just enjoyed being pretend-married so much that we decided to do it for real," Squall said while reaching out and taking a hold of Quistis' hand. He gave her a kiss on her ring finger, showcasing the over-sized engagement ring and wedding band. He then pointed at a framed copy of their marriage certificate.

 _Who frames their marriage certificate?_

Rinoa was not liking where this was heading and decided to change things in her favor, but her dream would not alter itself.

"Rinoa, don't fight this. Quistis should be my wife. We have much more in common. We're both serious, dedicated SeeDs. We both have a talent for leadership. We're equals. We even grew up under similar circumstances. You're just a high school dropout. And a runaway. Not to mention the problem of your sorceress powers. Basically a total mess," Squall said. "Why should we wind up together? You're more suited to be our maid."

Rinoa pushed back again trying to curtail the spiraling nightmare. She wanted the dream to change into something nice so badly. The scene did change, but not for the better. She found herself on her knees scrubbing the polished wood floor with a brush and a bucket full of water.

"Squall honey, you should fire her. She's not a good housekeeper. She can't cook or clean well," Quistis said while peering over the edge of the bed at her.

"No, I think we should keep her, she needs to know her place," Squall replied. "This is the only way she'll learn."

As Rinoa cleaned the room, the floor only became dirtier. She was getting her hands, arms, and clothes full of muddy water. Every time she dipped her brush in the bucket, it would slop everywhere near her. It was awful and it seemed never-ending.

The whole time she had been fighting against the dream frantically. When finally broke free of the repetitive motion of cleaning, she turned on them with rage. Quistis threw up her arms defensively, expecting Rinoa to strike her. But instead of hitting Quistis, she grabbed hold of Squall's undershirt with her wet and dirty hands and pulled him towards her angry face.

"How could you do this to me you damaged, cold-hearted, socially inept SeeD jerk?!" she yelled at dream-Squall with tears in her eyes.

She suddenly was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of loneliness and anxiety. Her hope of love and acceptance was crushed, and it caused her to wake up in a cold sweat fully aware. She was not looking forward to month of being alone with her out-of-control insecurities.

End of Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Okay, I'm trying something new here. I want it to be interesting, but kinda cute and funny. The overall situation seems silly and fun to me. I mean, pretending to be married, that's going to be AWKWARD! We'll see how it goes. It'll get more lighthearted. Oh, and I got the title from an old game show. Please read and review. I'm really trying! So please be nice in your reviews.

(I was going to make this be for The Successor Challenge being run by SummonerLuna and EmeraldLatias for this August, but I don't think I'll be able to write the ENTIRE story and have it completely posted ONLY in August, and that's part of the rules. I'll probably make something smaller for that.)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Farewells and New Beginnings

It was a day like any other in Balamb, warm, sunny, and breezy. It felt like the first day of a long summer vacation, but it wasn't a happy day for Rinoa because it was the day of departure for the SeeD mission. She didn't want this day to come, but here it was already.

Although Rinoa hadn't officially made up with Squall yet, she still went down to the front gate to see him and the others off. Squall hadn't even brought up what had occurred the other night. For better or worse, silence seemed to be his default position on everything.

Everybody going on the SeeD mission was gathered at the front gate to say their goodbyes. They already were dressed like the young affluent couples they were meant to be. Squall and Irvine wore crisp dress slacks and light button-down shirts accompanied with expensive looking watches donning their wrists, while Selphie and Quistis wore luxurious and well tailored summer dresses complete with matching jewelry sets. They each had cases full of luggage, although other supplies had been sent ahead of them to their apartments in Deling City. They were going to pretend to be newly arrived couples, drawn by the alluring excitement of an urban landscape. It felt like they were leaving on a summer vacation trip, although it was in actuality a SeeD mission.

Selphie was the first to speak up at this awkward farewell party.

"Oh Rinny, I'm gonna miss you so much! I wish you could come too. It'd be so much fun. I'll keep you updated with everything I do through my blog!" Selphie exclaimed while springing lightly on her feet.

"Selphie, you can't do that, we're going undercover," Quistis chastised.

"Oh, well, I meant to say that I would love to keep you updated on everything through my blog, but I CAN'T because this is a SECRET mission. I'll be able to tell you everything when we get back though. We can have a little return celebration party for us girls and just chat the entire night away! I'm sure we'll have tons of fun stories."

Selphie jumped into Rinoa's arms and embraced her in a very tight hug. She was genuinely saddened by leaving Rinoa behind and she looked heartbroken. She took her time before finally letting Rinoa go.

"Yea, Selphie's right, we'll be able to tell you about everything when we get back. Don't worry 'bout a thing, darlin'," Irvine said while lightly patting Rinoa on the upper arm.

He reached up to tip his cowboy hat although he realized he wasn't wearing it. He tried to cover up the gesture by brushing his hair back. He was still getting used to his new look, and he missed his signature hat already.

"Everything will be fine," Quistis chimed in while crossing her arms.

A blank expression was worn on her face that Rinoa couldn't read, but jealousy crept into her thoughts. She knew that she shouldn't blame Quistis for this, after all she was only a SeeD fulfilling her mission. Rinoa tried to look at it logically from her point of view. She didn't want to be annoyed with her friend.

Zell seemed unsure of what he should say to comfort Rinoa. He wasn't happy about the whole situation between Squall and her. He knew this was a point of tension for his friends and he wished there could be something he could do about it. He didn't like seeing her in distress. She'd been through enough in the last year or so. She needed her friends' support. If only there was something he could do to convey his complicated feelings. He was frustrated, and that frustration led him to walk up to her with a big 'rawr' and smash her into his muscular chest for a bear hug. The air was completely knocked out of her lungs, and then he suddenly released her from his arms.

"We'll miss you Rin," Zell said while flashing her a dazzling sharp-toothed smile.

The only person left to say good-bye to Rinoa was Squall. Everybody looked at him expectantly while taking a step backwards for the appearance of privacy. Nobody looked away though, it was like they were watching an emotional TV drama. They couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

Squall stepped forward to Rinoa and they both looked down at the cement sidewalk. She started to fiddle with her necklace and twist her boot into the ground. He looked up and began to speak.

"We'll come back when the culprits have been apprehended," he said.

 _Straightforward fact #1,_ Rinoa thought.

"I'll see you when the mission is over."

 _Straightforward fact #2_

"I'll work as efficiently as possible to ensure that time is not wasted."

 _Straightforward fact #3_

The others were disappointed by Squall's farewell. If this really was a TV drama, it was an entirely crappy one that was written by an uncreative person. It really needed to be spiced up with some passionate kissing and declarations of undying love. Maybe a little bit of crying too.

Squall looked down at the ground awkwardly again.

 _I have something for you,_ he thought at her through their sorceress knight bond. Luckily none of the others had discovered their secret connection yet, and at least a little bit of their farewell would be private.

She heard him projecting his thoughts, but she pretended to not hear him. He looked over his shoulder at the group and glared at them to turn around. They obediently turned around at the insistence of their commander.

"I have something for you," he whispered while bending down towards her.

Rinoa couldn't ignore that, so she peered up at him. He handed her a neatly folded piece of paper.

Here's our contact information. I technically shouldn't give this to you, but I thought I would anyways. But it's only in case of an actual emergency. For instance, if you can't control your sorceress powers and you're going to blow up Balamb Garden... call me first..." he whispered.

 _...and then I'll come help you do it,_ he thought at her playfully with the tiniest smile beginning in the corner of his lips.

His joke broke the tension and she lightly smiled back at him. The thought of her blowing up Balamb Garden was ridiculous. She'd never want or even have the ability to do that. Would she?

 _I'm going to miss you,_ Rinoa thought at him.

 _Be safe,_ he returned in his thoughts.

Rinoa couldn't take it anymore, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. Squall stood still for a moment before he let his guard down and returned the hug, even though he felt all the others sneaking peeks at them. The others had been waiting to see if this farewell was going to get any good. They thought that maybe now there would be some passionate kissing. They stared more openly now, and they leaned forward to get a better view. Squall quickly snapped his head around at them and they suddenly looked up towards the clouds in the sky pretending that they hadn't been watching the farewell. He reached down and gave her a light kiss on the top of the head before withdrawing his arms.

He nodded his head at her and gave her a light wave before taking his luggage and walking away. The group started to disperse. They had a train to catch. Rinoa stood by the front gate until she couldn't see them anymore in the distance. It was not lost on her that neither one of them said the actual word 'goodbye.' Rinoa shuddered as the sun hid behind the clouds and the warm breeze that had been blowing all morning turned cool, chilling her. She turned and headed back to the loneliness of her dorm room and decided to busy herself as best she could.

* * *

Hours later the train rumbled beneath them as the SeeDs (plus Irvine) sat on their plush seats in their private train compartment. They were used to nice train rides thanks to the SeeD compartment, but this was merely a first class private train compartment that Xu had booked under their new names.

Two bench seats sat across from each other. A door with a tiny window separated them from the rest of the train allowing them to speak freely without being overheard. Although passersby couldn't hear what they were saying, they could see how they were interacting with each other if they looked through the door's window. They had to act naturally, like couples on a trip to Deling City, but they could talk about their mission while they were in their private car.

Squall took advantage of their private compartment to talk about the technical aspects of their mission.

"General Caraway recently gave me an updated profile of the kidnappers, and I think I should fill you in on that information now. The women that were kidnapped were all between the ages of 20 and 30. Other than their wealth and general age group, there was no other distinguishing characteristics. The surviving victims can attest to the fact that multiple men were involved, although they never got a chance to see their faces. After being kidnapped, they got blindfolded and taken in a windowless van to the criminals' hideout. They weren't sure, some of them felt it was a warehouse, and sometimes an old apartment. They are smart, and they don't match a set pattern. A ransom demands gets sent to the victim's loved ones within 24 hours, and if those demands are not met within 3 days, the woman gets brutally beaten and dumped in the desert. Luckily none of these women have died, but the kidnappers don't have any regards for these people's lives. All these women who were kidnapped live in a wealthier area of Deling City, mostly within a 3 block radius. That is where we are going to live," Squall finished his summary and sighed. "Oh, and remember to check in daily with Zell. Memorize everybody's addresses and contact info in case we need to get in touch with each other. It's okay to pretend that we are acquaintances in public."

Everybody nodded their heads at him, trying to absorb the information. They were mostly excited about the more fun aspects of this mission than the actual technical details. They'd do their jobs, but they were going to have fun too.

After his long discussion, Squall returned to staring out the window and trying to unwind and block out the scene going on in the train car. Everybody had relaxed again after his speech, and Selphie was singing her train song and every so often she would grab Irvine's arm and pull him near for a kiss. Squall was in a bad mood and wanted to reprimand her for being unprofessional, but this mission required her to be married to Irvine. So her public displays of affection actually were professional, even if accidentally so. Squall should be complimenting her great acting abilities, but even under threat of torture he would not compliment Selphie as she would use it to take her PDA to another level. Irvine was sitting back lazily and enjoying his affectionate train ride. And even Quistis was trying to get into the spirit of things by sitting very close to Squall. She was really in his personal space. Their arms and legs were touching even though the train car was fairly spacious. He really didn't appreciate that.

Well, everybody except Squall was already easily falling into their roles. They'd be arriving in Deling City that night, and they had to get used to their new lives. Ever since they had met this morning before saying goodbye to Rinoa Squall had insisted they start to call each other by their aliases. They were getting into the swing of things.

Well, Zell was the only person that was acting completely normally. That was a benefit of him being a behind the scenes person on this mission.

Zell cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone and stood with his back to the train compartment's tiny window. He wanted what he was going to do to be unobserved by others.

"Okay guys, when we get nearer to Deling City I'll leave the compartment. I don't look rich enough to be hanging out with you guys. So before that happens, let me give you these," Zell said.

He reached into a padded box from within his messenger bag and pulled out some rings. There were four wedding bands and two engagement rings. He handed them to Squall and Quistis, and Irvine and Selphie.

"The wedding bands are hollow and have a small tracker set into the middle of them. I will be able to know where any of you are at any time with my surveillance equipment. Don't take them off. The engagement rings are just for show though. I made sure to pick out some really sparkly and eye catching ones. Hopefully nobody will be able to tell that the diamonds are fake. Don't let anybody look at them too closely. Actually, all of your jewelry is fake, so that goes for all of it. We needed big extravagant pieces. I hope you ladies like the styles I chose for you," Zell explained. "Your other jewelry is waiting for you in your apartments."

Zell had a knack for jewelry and design. The engagement rings were suited to their owners. Quistis' was more classically elegant, while Selphie's was a bit more exciting and non-traditional. Zell had done a good job.

"I can't wait to see what you picked out for me Zell!" Selphie said with a look of excitement on her face. This mission was seeming like a birthday and a vacation all rolled into one. It was as if she had won a contest that she hadn't even entered. She was on a train with all her friends, and everything was all happy with the world. She smiled down at her sparkly engagement ring until she realized that not all of her friends were with her. She felt sad for Rinoa, and she wished she'd come along. If only Caraway had not made a stipulation that she wouldn't be involved.

 _Actually, if Caraway wasn't a factor, would Squall have made up another excuse for her not to come? I can't imagine him wanting her to be a target for kidnapping. Sometimes Squall reminds me of Rinoa's father, I wonder if she realizes that. Well, I guess they aren't exactly the same. I'm pretty sure Caraway wasn't ever as cute as Squall. Yea, they're totally different, no need to bring it up to Rinoa EVER._

She leaned her head against the tinted glass of the train window and looked off into the distance. It was later in the day and the light was getting pink tinged. She felt excited for this mission, it would be like living a whole other life, one where she hadn't been an orphan, and instead was part of classy society where she didn't have to kill for a living. Selphie imagined stories like this when she was growing up at the orphanage. It was like pretending she was a princess. This mission was great, it was like a fun imagination game. Her imagination was her best friend, it helped her see things through 'rose colored glasses' and be positive and optimistic all the time. She was determined to have a good time no matter what. And with that, the thought of Rinoa faded quickly from her mind.

As they got closer to the Deling City stop, Zell quietly exited the train compartment without saying anything to the others. He didn't need them to find his apartment in the city. He was a tough looking guy, he didn't need any backup for this simple mission. He'd be able to blend in easily in the neighborhood he was set up in. They were already spending a ton of money on the 'newlyweds' luxurious apartments, and he knew that Garden had really cut corners on his abode. It was going to be a sloppy bachelor's lifestyle for the rest of this mission for him.

If he didn't have SeeD, would that be the way he lived his life everyday he wondered. He banished the thought while flipping up his hood and taking a seat in the crowded public train car.

* * *

A few minutes after Zell left the compartment, Squall decided to give some extra particulars about the mission.

"Zell said that we'd be tracked through the rings, but I also want to remind everybody that there are surveillance cameras in our apartments and outside our buildings. Even if it is going to be black and white and grainy, Zell is going to be able to SEE what we are up to through the video feeds in case somebody breaks in to kidnap any of us," Squall stated while giving Irvine a direct look.

"What are you looking at me for Squall... I mean WALTER?" Irvine asked with pretend innocence.

"Eeeeew, is Zell going to be able to see me..." Selphie whispered loudly, "on the toilet?"

Squall put his hand up to his face.

"No Selphie, the cameras are going to be focused on points of entry, but they might also be able to see into parts of the bedroom, living room and kitchen," Squall explained. "I just want to make sure you guys know that what you do in your own apartment isn't exactly entirely private. We're all working here. Soldiers don't always have the luxury of privacy."

Irvine shrugged his shoulders playfully. "Like I care if Dincht watches me live my life," he said. "It might be educational for him. He's got to grow up sometime," Irvine laughed.

"Irvy! I mean BUTCH!" Selphie said. "You be NICE!" She thumped him hard in the stomach with her fist.

While Selphie and Irvine bickered, Quistis quietly took out a mirrored compact from her designer (knock-off) purse. She applied a new coat of lip gloss and primped her sleek blond hair. Her reflection showed a well put together wealthy young woman. She didn't outwardly reveal her excitement like Selphie, but she was also looking forward to this mission. It was like a fun vacation, much better than being up to her neck in bloody marlboro tentacles. Too bad the goal of it was to get herself kidnapped. Well, she'd enjoy herself up until then. Pretending to be married to Squall was like a childhood dream come true for her. She didn't even care about the rich part. Like she even cared about that. She just wanted to pretend to be in a loving relationship. Not that she was the sort of person that thought a woman needed a man, but it would be fun. It's always nice to have options.

While the rest were thinking about all the fun they'd be having on this mission, Squall just sat and worried. He returned to looking out the window in order to clear his thoughts and focus on the mission. He feared that every second he'd be gone would only make Rinoa more upset. It was like there was a clock constantly ticking in his head. He didn't have the time or desire to enjoy the luxury. He had to be quick and efficient in order to spare Rinoa unnecessary loneliness. He'd been initially excited when Caraway had called, and he had been quick to accept the mission. Being stuck behind a desk wasn't what he'd envisioned out of life, but now he was wondering if he should have given this contract to another SeeD team. Over the past year as much as he didn't want to admit it, his heart was tied to Rinoa. It was a strange vulnerable feeling. He didn't like feeling vulnerable.

And he didn't even want to think about Quistis. He'd deal with that when he had to. Right now he was thinking only of Rinoa. Every mile trailing behind him in the train, well, he'd have to traverse again just to see her. The distance between them filled him with a weird emptiness that was physically bothering him. He was scared that love was making him weak, and he decided to do what he did best. Hide it from the others. He'd been on other missions shortly after he had defeated Ultimecia, but none of them lasted more than a couple of days. The relationship along with the sorceress-knight bond had been less developed during those times and he wondered if his current feelings was due to that. Maybe they would only intensify as time went on.

A metallic squeal and a rough jolt of brakes signaled to them that they were pulling into their stop. They busied themselves to disembark, and before Squall knew it, he was riding up the escalator from the train station to Deling City itself.

 _It always seems like I'm here at nighttime,_ Squall thought to himself while looking at the darkening sky.

The rosy hint of twilight was receding into blackness. It was a perfectly clear night, but he could only see a few stars as the lights of the city street prevented Squall from seeing any more than the very brightest ones. A myriad of people walked past Squall either heading towards the shops and restaurants downtown or towards the train station.

When he turned around, Irvine and Selphie who had wasted no time were giggling and hopping onto a public bus to take them to their new 'home' for the duration of this mission. They really seemed to be getting into the newlywed spirit. They were already all over each other, even more than on the train, and earning the disapproving glares of people passing by.

Squall turned around and saw Quistis looking him straight in the eyes. She was waiting for him to say something.

"I think we should get going home... Kiki," Squall said to Quistis while rubbing at his scar. Sometimes a phantom pain plagued him when he was stressed. This was one of those times.

"Oh, why don't we go out for a nice dinner first... sweetie," Quistis countered.

"We should probably get freshened up first AT HOME," Squall said clearly. Then he added under his breath, "we should establish a home base first and then get the lay of the land in our new neighborhood."

Emotionally she was disappointed, but tactically she approved. She nodded in agreement, and then walked to the bus stop to wait for the next bus with him. It would be awhile before they got to their new neighborhood as it was quite a few stops farther away from the center of Deling City. Squall was curious to see it for himself. The few times he'd been to Deling City were limited to the downtown area.

A vivid scene flashed before him, but he tried to block out the memories of the wild Sorceress Parade. The yelling crowds, the vicious Galbadian soldiers, the fantastical dancers, and then seeing Seifer alive on a parade float with the sorceress.

 _Hopefully this visit won't end with me getting speared with a giant ice shard,_ he thought to himself.

Quistis had been eyeing him intently as they sat next to each other on the bus. The slight furrowing of his eyebrows clued her in to his inner turmoil. He never spoke up, so she had to interpret his thoughts through his subtle body language. Luckily she was an expert Squall observer. Quistis reached out and placed her hand over his tenderly.

"Walter, are you feeling okay?" she asked with concern.

Squall recoiled at her touch and looked over at her with disbelief.

"I'm fine. Just tired," he replied.

 _You shouldn't be coming on to your commanding officer Quistis! Oh wait, she can't hear my thoughts. Only Rinoa can do that. And I guess, this whole mission is going to be her coming on to me. She's just doing her job._

"I have a slight headache, and I just want to be left alone right now," he said.

 _We've barely been pretend-married at all, and I'm already getting the headache excuse! I'm going to have some fun with this,_ Quistis thought to herself.

"Sweetie, why don't you lean your head on my shoulder if you don't feel well? I'll let you know when we get to our stop."

"No thank you."

"It's fine, I don't mind," she said sweetly.

"No thanks."

"You can just take a little nap here," she said while patting the top of her nearest shoulder and smiling.

"No."

Quistis reached out and tried to pull him down towards her. This was becoming awkward and humiliating for Squall, but he gave in and let himself lean against her while crossing his arms tightly. A little smile crossed Quistis' face briefly. She was having fun, and it was 100% Garden approved. A tense silence ensured for the next 15 minutes while they sat on the rumbling bus. As soon as they reached their stop, Squall shot up from their seat with his bag in hand and walked out without saying a word to Quistis. She could carry her own luggage and catch up with him on her own. They were going to pretend to be a married couple, but he felt dread in the pit of his stomach at the thought that she was going to ENJOY it. He didn't want to be teased like that. Except maybe when Rinoa did it, and even then, not a whole lot.

The bright streetlight cast dark shadows around him as he peered up to try and read a street sign. They were almost at their destination. He took a right turn and started walking down the street. It was getting to be later in the evening, and there were quite a few people out in the streets. There were people walking small fancy dogs, couples on dates, and roving groups of teens. The light crowd made a background din in addition to the constant sounds of traffic.

His eyes finally settled on the apartment building that was going to be their home for the duration of the mission. The brick front of the building had a large stone porch with a wide set of stairs leading up to the entrance that was flanked by two large stone lions. A pair of chatty women were loitering near the entrance. Squall prepared to brush past them, but he was stopped when one reached out and grabbed a hold of his bicep.

"Well hello there! I see that you have some luggage with you. Are you the new tenant that is moving into that vacant apartment on the fifth floor? We saw professional movers carrying boxes in all morning," said the stranger.

 _Those movers must have been the rookie SeeDs that were tasked with setting up our apartments and surveillance equipment,_ Squall thought.

"Yes, I'm the new tenant," Squall stated while looking over the two women.

The two women were possibly in their mid-forties although they looked younger. They were good looking, but he didn't notice that because he was assessing more objective things about their appearance. They seemed to be nicely groomed and in very good shape. Their clothes were casual, yet had an air of being expensive. One was a bleached and highlighted blonde, and the other an unnatural redhead. These were the types of people he was going to try to fit in with. Better sooner than later he supposed. He noticed they each had a glass of red wine in hand, and expensive looking bracelets adorned their slender wrists.

While he was discreetly assessing them based on their appearance, they were doing the same to him, except for the discreet part. They weren't being inconspicuous at all. He could feel their eyes on him and he didn't like it. If he'd been Laguna, his leg would be cramping up right now.

"Well, I guess we'll be your neighbors in this building. My name is Courtney Waterford," said the blonde with an appraising smile. "And this is Victoria Greene," she said while pointing to her redheaded friend.

They stood and waited for him to introduce himself, but it took him a moment to realize that fact. He was used to not sharing information with others. Squall needed to be more outgoing for this mission.

"My name is Walter River..." he said, and then added, "nice to meet you ladies."

The women smiled up at him fondly until Quistis came wheeling her luggage behind her. The rumble of plastic wheels was followed by a loud thump for every step she dragged her heavy luggage across. When she reached the top step she pushed some of her sweaty blonde hair off the sides of her face and eyed Squall fiercely.

"Oh, this is Kiki... um, my wife," he added weakly.

The women looked disappointed at the mention of a wife, but they tried to smile it off.

"Oh, sorry to have kept you. Maybe you should help your wife with her heavy bag," Courtney suggested while pointing towards Quistis.

"The exercise will do her good," Squall said before turning and walking into the building with his luggage that he could lift with ease.

Quistis stared after him with disbelief as he went inside the building. She suddenly gave the women an embarrassed nod before hurrying in behind him.

Courtney and Victoria raised their eyebrows at each other. Their new neighbors certainly were interesting.

"Did you see that?" Victoria said. "He was so handsome, but he was so cold to his wife. Wow... I wonder what goes on in their home."

"I know, I'm going to be keeping my eyes on them," Courtney replied while lifting her wine glass to Victoria.

They both smiled at each other while clinking glasses. Then they got back to gossiping.

* * *

The door slammed behind Quistis as she entered their new furnished apartment. She was tired from carrying her bag all the way to the fifth floor and the air conditioning felt nice on her sweaty face. Squall didn't feel the need to take the elevator, so neither did she. He could go right ahead and show off how he was a big strong man, she'd match him head to head. Stubborn jerk.

She fanned her face with her hand while taking a cooling breath. Squall was already nowhere to be seen.

"Walter?" she said out loud from where she stood at the entrance.

He walked out from the back bedroom and stalked towards her with purpose. He whispered to her quietly, "I checked to make sure all the surveillance cameras were up and running, as well as being adequately hidden. I've looked at all possible points of entry and hiding areas," He lowered his voice even further, "And I found our weapons, they are hidden in the bedroom closet, as we were already told. They'll be there if necessary, but we hopefully won't have to use them until our cover is blown."

She nodded at him, if this was a SeeD exam he'd have done well. He'd covered all bases.

"I think we should get a feel for the neighborhood and start to get out there... for research," she offered.

"Yes, we should. Keep an eye out for any suspicious looking people. They obviously are targeting a certain type of person for their kidnappings. They probably are out there choosing marks. So you should make sure you wear a lot of jewelry while we are here. That will increase the odds of you being noticed and your desirability for being kidnapped," he said.

 _And increase the odds of this mission being over sooner,_ he thought to himself with a vision of a sad-faced Rinoa in his head.

"Okay, I'll get dressed to go out to eat with you, but first I'm going to take a shower and get freshened up," she replied.

Before showering Quistis surveyed the apartment just to get a feel for their new home. It was a very spacious one bedroom apartment. In the main room the kitchen had high end stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. Off the main room was a second bathroom for guests. Wood floors ran throughout the entire apartment. It was much newer and nicer than her SeeD apartment. The bedroom had vaulted ceilings and all the fixtures and furnishings in the apartment were expensive and elegant looking. The bathroom was immaculate. It contained both a large marble tiled shower and a bath. The shower contained a large rainfall shower head. Quistis was going to enjoy spending time in the nice large bathroom.

While Quistis had stepped into the back bedroom to find their bathroom to shower, Squall stayed at the other end of the apartment to give her privacy. He felt weird about this whole arrangement. Although he was staying away from her, he still could hear the running water and the sound of her humming a tune. The situation was especially strange since she was a former teacher of his. A former teacher with a hot body who had some lingering feelings for him.

 _No wonder Rinoa was so upset, this sounds terrible now that I'm thinking about it! What was I thinking?! Maybe I should have partnered up with Selphie. Then I wouldn't have to worry about Rinoa and Quistis' feelings, and then Selphie and Irvine wouldn't be so distracted with each other. It isn't like Selphie or I have any attraction towards each other._

Squall tried to imagine being together with Selphie. His brain couldn't wrap around that thought fully. It didn't make sense, even for an undercover mission. It wouldn't even make sense in a parallel universe. All of his extreme introversion with her extreme extroversion would be like a cold front forcefully meeting a warm front, a tornado would ensue, and the mission would have ended up as a murder-suicide.

 _Discomfort aside, Quistis is better suited for me. Hmmm, I'm glad Rinoa isn't around to hear that thought._

Within 20 minutes Quistis was dressed and ready to go. Squall was surprised. Quistis was much more efficient than Rinoa, he hadn't expected that. She'd even put on a nice dress and jewelry. Quistis was falling into her role much easier than Squall was. Her appearance was flawless and would blend in easily with the neighborhood. Well maybe not exactly blend in. Her well tailored coral dress looked stunning against her milky white skin and shiny honey blonde hair. As they had discussed, she was dripping in sparkly jewelry. Squall approved of her taking this seriously.

He glanced down at his own appearance, he hadn't done anything to freshen up after their hours on a train. He didn't dare go near her while she was getting ready. He was just grateful there was a half-bath at the front of the apartment or he wouldn't have even been able to go to the bathroom. He figured he looked presentable enough though. Anyways, nobody was out there to kidnap him. He just had to look wealthy enough that he would pay a ransom for his wife.

"Let's go," he said while walking through the front door.

Although Squall was getting very hungry, he took a long walk through the neighborhood to see what was out there. Quistis mostly kept quiet while he did his scouting. She no doubt was keeping a look out as well. They were both soldiers, they knew what to do.

Quistis saw a fancy little neighborhood restaurant with outdoor seating and tried to steer Squall in that direction.

"Walter honey, why don't we try this restaurant. It has such cute little tables set up on the sidewalk. Wouldn't that be fun to do some people watching while eating? Wouldn't it?" she asked.

Squall looked at her and nodded. He let himself be pulled towards the restaurant. Quistis asked to be seated outside since it was such a beautiful night, and they were silently led to the blocked in outdoor eating area. They took their seats and Quistis started to look at the menu. Her eyebrows raised at the prices. She was glad she didn't have to pay for this dinner personally. Squall didn't even pick up a menu.

"Walter, what do you want to eat? You have to pick something," she said.

Squall hadn't stopped looking around for suspects.

"I'll have... whatever," he said. "Actually why don't you pick something out for me... Kiki."

She sighed while folding her menu back up and setting it down. A waiter soon came to take their orders.

"I'll have the salmon salad, and my husband will have the steak and herbed potatoes," she said while hoping Squall would be okay with her choice for him. Men liked meat and potatoes, didn't they? He didn't give an indication either way. If he had any sort of food preferences, nobody had been able to find out what those were yet.

"Would you two like anything to drink. We have a nice wine that would pair well with..." the waiter started.

"We'll both have water," Squall said dismissively. He didn't want their senses dulled, especially on their first few hours on the job.

They remained quiet while waiting for their food. Quistis could tell that Squall was in SeeD mode and was scoping the territory to ascertain if there were any leads or threats present. He wasn't an actor, so she'd have to play up their roles enough for the both of them. She fiddled with her expensive looking bracelets during their wait. The gemstones caught on the candlelight and gleamed like stars. If they were going to look like a normal married couple, they would have to have a conversation. Conversation clearly wasn't Squall's department.

"Walter?" she said to get his attention.

He didn't seem to hear her. He got lost in his thoughts often.

"Walter?"

Still nothing.

"Wal?"

That got his attention because it sounded close enough to Squall.

"Isn't it beautiful out this evening. I bet if we weren't in the city, we'd be able to see more stars," she said.

He nodded at her.

This conversation was going to be like pulling teeth. She figured she'd just have to chatter with herself and make sure her jewelry caught the light. It was tedious, but it was her job. She would have thought a fancy dinner alone with Squall would have been more fun. How did Rinoa put up with this? Maybe she'd just have to try harder.

Their food arrived quickly and Quistis was delighted by it. Her salad was wonderful, and she'd been so hungry. She'd love to shovel it in, but she had to eat properly like a wealthy woman. Squall ate his food as if he had no taste buds. His eyes never seemed to look at either her or his food.

 _Well, at least I picked him something protein packed. He needs to keep his strength up. Hopefully he won't lose any muscle mass while on this soft mission. I guess that's an added duty on this mission, making sure Squall eats properly and stays fit and healthy,_ she thought to herself with a resigned sigh.

* * *

Zell found his new apartment quickly after he'd gotten off the Deling City bus. This city had great public transportation. Once you arrived by train, you didn't even need a car. Even if you missed a bus, there'd be another one along shortly. It was easy to stay mobile.

When he walked up to the building he'd be in he took a deep breath. He knew it wouldn't be as nice as the others' places, but it looked pretty dumpy. Trash was piled up in front, and there were a few alley cats hanging around. Plaster and paint were peeling off the front of the building, and a set of narrow stairs led up to the entrance which contained an uninviting door with wrought iron bars across it. He passed a short stocky looking tough guy as he walked up the cement steps to the front door. If Zell hadn't been a battle tested SeeD, he would have been intimidated by the man's muscular appearance and overabundance of neck tattoos.

 _That guy looks like a creep!_ Zell thought to himself while walking into the building.

He walked into a small lobby, and before him was an elevator, while off to his right was a set of stairs. His apartment was on the second floor and he decided to take the stairs. Zell felt happy to not have to be on a train or bus anymore and he sprinted up the stairs two steps at a time with his messenger bag banging behind him. The warped and dusty old wooden stairs creaked under his heavy weight as he ascended them. He was soon at his door and pulled out the key he'd been given earlier and let himself in.

He pushed open the door and the hallway light briefly illuminated the front portion of the apartment. He stumbled in and switched a light on before shutting and locking the door behind him. It was sparsely furnished. He turned to the main living area and saw his desk with all of his technical surveillance equipment on it. It was set up to not be visible to any passersby in the hallway. There was a mattress in a corner and a small table for eating. He knew they were going to go cheap for him, but the dirty dinky studio apartment was a letdown since he knew his friends were in luxury apartments stocked with goodies. At least they'd remembered to ship his luggage out here.

 _Tch. This is how Garden sets me up here? Stupid mission. I wish I'd been chosen to play a spoiled rich guy. I guess I shouldn't have gotten a face tattoo. Stupid face tattoo!_

He walked over to the kitchenette to look for some food. Zell riffled through refrigerator and cabinets to find that they were all empty except for the most basic of cookware, plates, cups, and utensils. He walked into the bathroom as well. There were only a few towels for him. Luckily, the majority of his luggage had arrived and was waiting for him in the corner.

 _I guess I'd better run out tonight and get some food and supplies. I thought they said we'd all be fully stocked so we could work. Maybe only the 'couples' got that treatment._

Zell decided that the fridge wasn't going to stock itself. Although he had just arrived, he figured he should go out and do the shopping now. He exited and locked his apartment and was once again hopping down the stairs to the front entrance where the tough creepy guy was still standing. Now he was smoking a cigarette.

"Yo," said the tough guy.

"Yo!" Zell responded while flipping his hood back up over his head.

 _Do people still say that? I guess they do here,_ he thought to himself while he jogged down the street to the nearest convenience store.

* * *

A few hours later Squall and Quistis made their way back 'home.' They tried to look as if they were having a leisurely and romantic after dinner walk through the neighborhood, but it probably wasn't very convincing. Squall was walking too fast for it to be leisurely, and they weren't even holding hands. Plus, any fun walk wouldn't have gone on for as long. Squall made her walk miles in her fancy little heels. She wished she could wear men's dress shoes or at least comfortable flats. Designer shoes were always the worst. All design and no comfort. The straps had been digging into her skin and chaffing her a lot at the end of the night. She was relieved to finally walk in their door. It was already starting to feel like home. Well at least if it wasn't exactly a home, it was certainly a home base.

Squall immediately took off his shoes and arranged them by the front door neatly. Quistis joined him in stripping off her footwear. A mild euphoria overcame her, and it wasn't because this would be her first night alone with Squall, it was because she got to take those terrible strappy heels off her feet! Luckily her feet weren't bleeding, blistering, or swollen.

"Walter, I'm going to bed. Are you coming?" she asked him while walking towards the bedroom.

Squall crossed his arms and tossed his hair aside. "I'm going to stay up and work on my laptop. Don't wait up for me."

 _Fine be that way Squall! I'm going to go lay down and put my feet up on my soft and fluffy bed,_ she thought.

Quistis walked into the bedroom and shut the door. Squall could hear her taking off her make-up and washing up. Twenty minutes later the light filtering under the bedroom door went off signaling Quistis was in bed going to sleep, but it wasn't until two hours later that Squall snuck in to go to bed. He'd wanted to wait until he knew for sure that she was asleep.

His feelings were awash with guilt, and he just wanted to go straight to sleep and forget about where he was. He had brushed his teeth and changed into a full set of pajamas in the front bathroom before getting into bed. He usually just slept in his boxers and undershirt, but he couldn't be doing that here. He even planned to wake up before her and exit the bed. It would be like he'd never been there at all. He shoved a pillow in between their bodies and climbed in beside her. As usual he curled up in a fetal position, but he was making sure that he was turned away from her. His body nearly was over the edge of the bed. He was so nervous and uncomfortable it was making him hot and sweaty. Not the most comfortable way to sleep, but it'd do. He took a deep breath and tried to empty his mind for sleep. He hoped Rinoa couldn't get into his dreams tonight through their bond as nothing good could come from it.

End of Chapter 2

Please read and review. Okay, this had a lot of set up stuff in it. They have to get settled in before stuff starts happening. I'm trying! It's hard to write when there are more characters than just Squall and Rinoa in it. (Oh, and I don't own Final Fantasy, I'm just making up a story for fun.)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Hot and Humid

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Selphie sang while bouncing on her knees in bed. The straps of her little yellow nightgown fell down her lightly tanned shoulders.

Irvine cracked open a bloodshot eye and looked up at her face. His first night on this mission had gone quite well, and he really would appreciate some more sleep.

"More sleep... need some sextra sleep," Irvine muttered while pulling a fluffy pillow over his head.

"Hey, what'd you just say?" Selphie laughed.

She pulled the pillow off his face and hugged it tightly to her body while peering down at him.

"I'm so excited about today! Our first full day together in Deling City as husband and wife. Oh, what should we do today? I have so many ideas! Woooo!"

Irvine laid on his back like an immobile lump while Selphie jumped out of bed with a bounce and went over to their bedroom window. She grabbed hold of the cord on the blinds and pulled down hard with a hop. Sunlight flooded the room and raced across Irvine's pallid bare chest. He let out a long hissing sigh and withdrew vampire-like into the shadows and rolled onto his face.

Selphie saw his reluctance to get up and frowned. She jumped back into bed with him and straddled his back while slapping his lightly freckled shoulders.

"Butch, get up you lazy bum! You're burning daylight. We gotta get up and have some fun in Deling City!"

She reached behind and gave his butt as whack as well. Irvine winced at the slap.

"I'm not getting up for nothin' Cassidy," he drawled facedown into the pillows.

"Oh, I think I could get you up," she said teasingly in a low voice. Or at least as low as she could make it.

Irvine liked the sound of that. He liked it a lot. He tried to turn over with Selphie still on his back. She was happy that he was finally starting to move, so she got off his back and flopped down next to him. Irvine didn't waste any time and rolled on top of her, planting light kisses onto her cheek. She reached up and rubbed her hands all over his bare chest with a mischievous smile.

"I think you've persuaded me darlin' Cassie," he said sleepily.

"I knew I could," she said cheerily before shoving her foot into his chest and boosting him out of bed with a powerful thrust from her well-toned legs. No matter what size they were, SeeD women were strong.

Irvine was suddenly airborne, and he landed on the floor with a thud beside the bed. He groaned as his long auburn hair fell across his face sloppily. She bounced down after him as he laid there stunned. Selphie could be scary sometimes, even when she was happy, which was always.

She grabbed a long lanky arm and dragged him to his feet easily. He was tall but he didn't weigh much. He wasn't particularly muscular.

 _Shooting a gun obviously doesn't require as much strength as being a gunblade specialist or a martial artist,_ Selphie thought sadly while looking at his bare chest.

She actually was a little surprised at how easy he was to physically push around. Not that she was going to stop, but she'd like a little challenge. He was nearly a foot taller than her, but she could probably pick him up and toss him across the room. Probably. She hadn't tried yet.

 _Maybe that's how I'll wake him up tomorrow,_ Selphie thought with glee.

Irvine took a seat on the edge of the bed. He was now fully awake and slightly stunned. His backside hurt from hitting the bedroom floor hard, and not for the first time did he contemplate dumping Selphie when this mission was over. He was about to yell at her about how rude she had been to wake him up in this way, but the thought quickly dissipated as he noticed that she was in nothing more than her sheer nightgown. He smiled at her unthinkingly, but he was quickly shaken to his senses.

"Get up and get dressed or we're getting a DIVORCE!" Selphie yelled happily while forcefully shaking and shoving him in the direction of the shower.

Irvine frowned. He hoped every day of this mission wouldn't start like this.

* * *

Quistis woke up to blazing sunlight in her eyes. That was odd. She always woke up before dawn. She turned over with excitement to see if Squall was still there. Last night she didn't want to fall asleep until he came to bed, but she had gotten so tired from all the traveling.

 _Unbelievable! My first night in bed with Squall and I slept through and missed it all._

When she looked over at Squall's side of the bed, she saw that he wasn't there. And not only was he not there anymore, but he'd somehow made the bed, at least the half that she wasn't currently laying in. She thought she was imagining it and maybe he'd slept on the couch, but when she went to bed she'd pulled back ALL the covers. He'd obviously been there overnight.

 _HE MADE THE BED WITH ME STILL IN IT!_ she thought with disbelief.

She sat up trying to process that thought, but she couldn't comprehend the sort of OCD maniac that would do something like that. When she finally got herself out of the bed, she sleepily walked out into the apartment hallway. She wandered towards the kitchen where she saw that Squall had already shaved, showered, dressed, and was possibly on his second cup of coffee. Even if they were pretending to be carefree rich people, he was still keeping his rigid SeeD schedule. His laptop was out on the kitchen table. She didn't know what he was doing, but he was doing it stressfully.

"Good morning," she said to the silent room. "What do you want to do today?"

Squall continued to type on his laptop for a few moments before speaking, "I'm researching areas of Deling City right now. I have focused on the general areas where the kidnappings took place, as well as abandoned warehouses or apartments that may have been used by the culprits. Maybe you should get dressed first before we make any definite decisions." He made sure to NOT look directly at her, as he could tell from glancing up briefly that she was still in her thin nightgown and presumably braless. He was getting uncomfortable, and tried to hide it behind working. "Before we go out, make sure to eat some breakfast. Nutrition is..."

Quisits didn't hear the rest of that sentence because she had turned around to go take a shower. She was disappointed. She was a healthy and, not to sound vain, good looking woman in a somewhat sexy nightgown, and Squall barely acknowledged her presence when she walked into the room. Yes she knew this marriage thing was all for pretend, but that really hurt her feelings. It wasn't that she wanted to steal him from Rinoa, well probably. If he decided to jump on the Team Quistis bandwagon, she wouldn't have said no. She'd certainly let him be president of her creepy fan club. Anyways, what she had wanted was at least some acknowledgment of her presence.

 _And then he responds by trying to give me a health class lecture about nutrition! He's not the instructor here! I am! Or I was... This dynamic is really getting weird,_ Quistis thought while flexing her whipping hand.

When she got into the bathroom and shut the door, she quickly slipped out of her 'somewhat sexy' nightgown and let it drop around her feet. She slid open the clear shower door and got inside before turning on a hot stream of water. Her hair got drenched and she let the heat soak into her shoulders.

 _Squall Leonhart the dream is a lot different than Squall Leonhart the reality. Even so, I'm going to make this mission fun. I'm still pretend-married to Squall, and I'm going to make the most of it,_ she thought to herself with determination.

By the time she got dressed and her hair dried and styled it was 10 am. For a SeeD that was practically like the middle of the afternoon. Maybe it was just the traveling from the day before, or the time zone difference. Or maybe she was getting into the wealthy lifestyle easily. Very easily.

After putting on a cream colored linen dress, she applied her makeup and put on a ridiculous amount of showy jewelry. She was a walking jewelry store. Maybe she was overdoing it. She wanted to get kidnapped, not mugged.

 _Okay, time to meet up with Squall. Round Two._

She walked back into the kitchen. Squall was still on his laptop and sipping black coffee. He didn't acknowledge her presence at all.

 _Big surprise,_ she thought sarcastically.

She reached into the refrigerator to see what it was stocked with. Her intentions were to make something healthy like fruit and oatmeal or whole wheat toast and eggs, but her eyes spotted a chilled bottle of sparkling wine. She shrugged her shoulders and reached for it. She found a bottle opener and popped it open and poured herself some in a champagne flute. She then added some orange juice and walked out the front door with her drink.

Squall watched the whole scene without saying or doing anything. Which is exactly what she'd figured he'd do.

She walked downstairs and onto the front steps of the apartment building next to the stone lions. It was a beautiful sunny morning with a light breeze. There were only a couple of people out walking their dogs because it was a little after 10 in the morning. Most other people were working. She was enjoying the feel of the breeze as she stood in the shade with her drink.

 _Ah yes, a wealthy woman's breakfast,_ she said to herself while taking a sip of her Mimosa cocktail.

Within minutes Courtney Waterford joined her outside. Quistis had a feeling one of the gossipy women would come out when they saw her. It was just a hunch.

Courtney was wearing a loose button down blouse with a pair of well tailored shorts and strappy heeled sandals. Her highlighted blonde hair was loose around her shoulders. She looked like a model from a department store catalog.

 _I didn't realize expensive looking shorts were a thing,_ Quistis thought to herself.

"Good morning," Quisitis said to the other woman.

"Hello, I was introduced to your husband last night. Maybe you didn't catch my name. I'm Courtney," said the gossipy neighbor.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Kiki," Quistis said while taking another sip of her drink.

"I know you just moved here, so maybe you haven't heard. But there have been some women kidnapped from this area. You might want to be careful when you're out by yourself."

"Kidnapping! Oh dear, that sounds awful! Did you know any of the people that were kidnapped?" Quistis inquired calmly while hoping for some good information.

"Well, I didn't personally know anybody. But I knew a person... who knew a person who was in the same building with one of the victims," Courtney said with breathless excitement.

"Are you worried?" Quistis said.

"Well, I'm not terribly worried. So far all of the women have been in their 20s. And I'm in my... um, 30s," Courtney said.

"Thank you for the warning. I'll keep an eye out for suspicious people, but I'm not going to let any scary news story keep me from living my life," Quistis said loudly with a laugh.

She nodded her head at her nosy neighbor before walking back to go inside the apartment building.

 _Well, I got some information out of her. I know I can go to her for some neighborhood gossip. She could be a valuable resource._

"Let me know if you ever need anything," Courtney called out after her with a wave.

"Thanks Courtney," Quistis replied while the door shut behind her.

After climbing the stairs, Quistis stepped back into the apartment and walked into the kitchen to make a real breakfast. The combination of an empty stomach and the wine was starting to make her feel a little bit too loose. Alcohol didn't usually effect her to this extent. She walked past Squall and brushed her fingers through his fabulously glossy hair on the way to the cupboard. Whether he reacted or not, she didn't care. She found a canister of oatmeal and set out to make herself a big bowl of it to go along with some yogurt and fruit.

"I was just talking with one of the women we met yesterday. The blonde one. I think they can both be useful sources of neighborhood information. They are gossipy. She warned me about the rash of kidnappings, so she's aware and interested in the story," Quistis explained.

"Good thinking," Squall replied, choosing to ignore the hair touching. Not acknowledging it was almost as good as it not having happened. "I was imagining that we could go out to the shopping district today and the park. Some of the women were abducted near those areas. What do you think?"

 _Maybe I can pick up a pair of those expensive looking shorts,_ Quistis thought.

"We have to start somewhere," Quistis said while taking a spoonful of yogurt and waving it in the air towards him.

* * *

While all the SeeDs were busy with their mission, or getting busy, in Irvine and Selphie's case, Rinoa sat on her bed back at Balamb Garden and worried about them. The day was in sharp contrast to the one in Deling City. It was rainy and unseasonably cold for this time of the year. The dark skies did nothing to help Rinoa's gloomy mood. She knew worrying about them would not keep them safe, but she couldn't help herself. She wasn't the sort of person who watched the news much, but she couldn't help seeing the news reports about the kidnapping lately. She didn't actively pursue it, but she saw the stories when she was looking up things to do on the computer, and watching TV. Even SeeDs passing her in the hallway were actively talking about it. It was making her uneasy. She wished they weren't away on this mission.

 _Too bad I can't just use my sorceress powers to find out who is behind these kidnappings._

Rinoa held out the palm of her hand and a brief flame lit there. She smiled at being able to control her powers to this extent. It was far easier to go too big than too small with her magic. She wasn't able to control herself very well yet. Sorceress magic was a lot different than GF junctioned magic.

She snapped her hand shut and extinguished the flame while thinking of Squall's disapproval. He really didn't want her to practice magic without him nearby to act as a lifeguard/fireman/paramedic or whatever emergency personnel person she'd need when things got out of hand. And they often did.

She tried once more to use her sorceress powers to reach out and contact him with her mind, but her heart wasn't in it and she didn't feel any connection over the vast distance. There was nothing. It was a weird feeling. Like she had a hollow empty stomach, but not. She missed him.

Since the defeat of Ultimecia, Squall had not gone on many missions because of his position as Balamb Garden Commander. She knew he was upset at not being a very active, battle ready SeeD, and he wanted to get out more, but it was nice having him around all the time. Even the times he'd taken on missions, and those he oversaw, mainly SeeD exams, those only took him away from Garden for relatively short periods of time. He'd only be gone for a few days tops. She could keep herself busy for that long without going crazy. She could read, play with Angelo, or go shopping. By the time she'd indulged in all these things, Squall would be back. Her separation anxiety would melt away at his return, and she could stop worrying. She really never wanted Squall to find out just how worried and anxious she got when he left. He didn't need any more burdens than he already had. It was her own problem, she'd just have to learn to deal with it. Maybe she could get some self-help books from the library. Maybe.

This mission just really bothered her because there was no firm time-table for Squall's return. She couldn't even count down the days because she didn't know when they'd be done. She also had the added worry of Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, and Zell. She knew they would be able to take care of themselves, but it didn't stop her from fretting. The point of the mission was to get Selphie and/or Quistis kidnapped, and that was not a calming thought.

She was feeling pretty low, but she figured she should eat. She dragged herself out of her room and walked towards the cafeteria for a late breakfast. A hearty breakfast of omelets and waffles would take her mind off her troubles, for a few minutes at least. She didn't have to waste time eating daintily either, she was just going to shovel food in her mouth. Who cared anyways? She finished her giant breakfast in no time at all.

When she was done with breakfast, she decided to go down to the library to stock up on some reading materials. She had plenty of time for reading now. As she was searching through the stacks of books, Ami the library girl came up to her to chat.

"Hello Rinoa! How's your day going?" Ami asked.

"Fine. Just thought I'd grab a few books," Rinoa answered, not wanting to get into the details of how much free time she had on her hands. She didn't want to seem as pathetic as she felt.

Knowing the way that things spread around Garden, there weren't too many people that didn't know that Squall was gone on a mission and that she was left behind purposely. Although over the past year the students stopped treating her like an infection, she hadn't been able to really make friends with anybody outside of her small circle.

Ami was the closest she had to a friend outside of her group, as she would periodically hang out with Zell sometimes. If pressed Ami would say that she was Zell's girlfriend, but anyone observing outside their close circle of friends wouldn't get that impression. Actually, Zell would be the most surprised to hear that too.

"I could use some help over the next couple of days if you're free. We just got in a ton of new books that I need to sort, but I also need to organize the library. It's been a while since anyone has gone through and weeded out the old books that no one has read," Ami said.

It didn't particularly sound like fun, but Ami was trying to involve Rinoa in something. Ami knew that Rinoa had been left behind and she looked pretty mopey and unkempt. If Rinoa had looked down, she would have noticed that there was some syrup dribbled down the front of her shirt.

"That might be fun," Rinoa said sadly.

 _At least it will keep me busy for a while and keep my thoughts off of Squall,_ Rinoa thought.

"Good, come here whenever you can. I'll appreciate any help you can give," Ami said sincerely and with a slight note of concern.

Rinoa had periodically lent a hand to help keep the library up. She volunteered so often that she might as well be on the payroll. Ami was one of the few people that took pride in the books that the library had. Most cadets and SeeDs didn't find the need to even use the library unless they were given an assignment that required it.

Rinoa nodded her head at Ami and left the library. She spent the rest of the day reading and getting lost in stories. Anything to not think about her own life for a little while was okay by her. She nearly felt content, maybe her time apart from Squall wouldn't be too bad. She could only hope.

* * *

At the same time that Rinoa was looking for books, Selphie pulled Irvine along on the warm cement sidewalk of Deling City. The sun had been baking the ground for hours, and its heat was radiating outward uncomfortably, turning the day from being relatively comfortable to one that was hot and humid. Some might even call it miserable. The bus fumes and humidity perhaps would dampen a normal person's spirits, or at least their hair, but Selphie Tilmitt, AKA Cassidy Pine, was not a normal person. Her hair and personality were as buoyant as ever.

Due to her bubbly personality, and the fact that she was practically dragging Irvine along behind her, many couples stopped and gawked at the site of a wealthy young lady flirting with a young man. She was definitely doing a good job of getting noticed. She had turned this mission into a game in order to make it more fun, and she wanted to beat Squall and Quistis by getting kidnapped first.

"Butch darling! Let's go get some ice cream to cool off!" she said dramatically while dropping his arm and doing a little spin in her light summer dress.

She was wearing a short sleeveless green dress with strappy leather sandals. The outfit was topped off with expensive looking jewelry, and a designer handbag. Irvine wore pressed khaki shorts and a white button-up shirt, although it was only buttoned halfway. His look was completed by wearing boating shoes with no socks and designer sunglasses. He was glad for the sunglasses, his eyes were still strained from the night before, and he was unused to not having a wide-brimmed hat on for shade.

"Slow down Cassie-honey," he drawled. "The ice cream can wait a minute."

Squall had once told Irvine he was too lax, and he was right. Irvine wasn't even looking out for possible suspects. All he was thinking about was the paid 'vacation' he was having with Selphie. He assumed right from the start that Squall and Quistis would be the ones catching the kidnappers. He was just there as unnecessary back up. Squall could probably do the whole mission single-handedly, and then he was paired with Quistis. They would be unstoppable. They would certainly take care of business. It was the only thing they really knew how to do. Irvine's specialty was more along the lines of pleasure rather than business. Although his current state wasn't particularly pleasurable.

He sighed. The heat and humidity were getting to him. Although he had lived in Galbadia for years, the beautiful and temperate weather of Balamb had softened his tolerance for a Galbadian summer. He took a second to catch his breath. The humidity was oppressive.

He stopped in the shade and leaned against a store's glass window front. The glass felt pleasantly cool on his back. Selphie turned around to look towards him. She gave him an adorable stare and started walking towards him with feeling. She probably was going to give him a bear hug and another round of machine gun kisses until he could hardly breathe.

 _Wow, again? Selphie never lets up. I can't handle anymore cuddling right now,_ Irvine thought to himself with a wince.

Right when he thought she was going in for a hug, she instead rushed up to the window next to him and started making cooing noises. Irvine turned around to see what she was looking at. In the store window was a basketful of little puppies. She smashed her nose to the window and started talking in gibberish.

"Oooshy boooooshy widdle piddle puppy dogs!" she said with a squeal.

 _Oh no! I stopped right in front of a pet store,_ Irvine thought. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_

"Cassie, let's go get some ice cream! I bet you can't eat a whole triple scoop banana split with fudge sauce and cherries! Actually I dare you to! Let's go do that!" Irvine said while trying to distract her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Unfortunately she didn't hear a word of it. She was mesmerized by their little puppy faces and teeny tiny puppy feet. They were so soft and fluffy looking. They were irresistible. She HAD to get one. Selphie the SeeD couldn't get a pet, but Cassidy Pine sure could!

Selphie straightened up her back and took a few slow blinks before suddenly turning to run into the store. The sound of her leather sandals slapping the cement was followed by the store's door slamming shut. Irvine hurried in after her grateful at least for the air conditioning. He braced himself for the inevitable.

An hour later they were walking down towards the park with ice cream cones. It was just according to plan, except for the addition of a tiny dog in Selphie's arms. It was hard to tell it was even a dog. It looked like a tiny puff ball with adorable eyes. Irvine thought it looked like a little puffy fox. It actually was pretty cute, but it was a shame that it yipped loudly at everything it passed whether it be a person, another dog, or even a harmless fly. It was going to be a major headache, he just knew it.

The dog tried to take a lick of Selphie's ice cream cone.

"Bad Cookie! You can't have momma's ice cream! That's people food! PEOPLE FOOD!" Selphie said while trying to discipline the dog. She was pretend-married, and this was going to be her pretend-baby.

The little fluff ball looked up sadly at her. Selphie couldn't stand when people looked at her with puppy dog eyes, so she was completely defenseless against an actual puppy dog.

"Oh, that's okay Cookie. You can have a little lick," she said while tipping the strawberry ice cream cone closer to the dog's face while rocking the dog back and forth like a baby. The dog started to lick excitedly. Ice cream smeared across its tiny nose.

As the dog licked her ice cream Irvine cringed in horror. He wasn't a neat freak like Squall, or even a germaphobe in general, but that was pretty disgusting. Really, really disgusting.

 _Maybe she will let the dog eat the rest of it. Maybe she won't take a lick after the dog. Maybe... YUCK! Now she's eating the ice cream! Oh and now the dog is licking her whole face. She's covered in dog saliva!_

Selphie started giggling out loud.

"Oh Butch! I'm having such a lovely day!" she said while walking up towards him for a big kiss with happy gleaming eyes.

 _Please don't touch me with that mouth!_ was all Irvine could think as she reached up towards his face.

* * *

Squall squinted against the sun while surveying the park. He'd been through the shopping district with Quistis already, and now they were taking a stroll. Many other couples were doing the same thing. It was summertime, and Deling City was a major city and a destination on the Galbadian continent. People played frisbee, ate ice cream cones, took pictures, or just laughed and enjoyed the day. Squall did not look like he was enjoying himself, neither did Quistis.

"Walter, let's sit down on that bench," she said while pointing to a bench in the shade that was just vacated by another couple.

They walked over and sat down. She was tired and hot. Squall looked completely untroubled by the heat. He was probably even cooler than usual. He was wearing a short sleeved light button up shirt with thin khaki pants. That must be chilly compared to his usual fur-lined leather jacket that he wore in sunny and tropical Balamb.

 _I wonder why he always wears that fur-lined jacket. It isn't like it's cold in Balamb. I guess I don't know as much about Squall as I thought I did,_ Quistis mused to herself.

"Walter, what do you want to do next?" she asked while looping her arm through his and leaning into his side.

He tried not to tense up at Quistis touching his bare skin. He wasn't used to wearing so little clothing, and she was just doing her job.

Quistis could feel his arm muscles become rigid beneath her touch. She smiled at him pretending like he was happy to be with her. She knew Squall wasn't the most normal man on the planet, but this was hurting her feelings.

 _Am I that terrible to be near?_ she thought in annoyance while smiling at him.

A high pitched yipping sound could be heard in the distance. If they hadn't been so preoccupied with each other, they could have turned around and seen Selphie chasing after a little fluffy dog with Irvine frantically chasing after her.

"Kiki, why don't you go get us some frozen lemonades," Squall replied while handing her some Gil.

While Quistis got up and walked away, Squall continued to think about the mission. He'd felt that they had been doing a fairly good job considering it was their first full day. He certainly had been doing his research, and they were getting out and about all over town. He kept his eyes on Quistis and watched to see if anybody suspicious was looking her over as she walked to the frozen lemonade stand. He had to find out who was kidnapping these women, and soon.

The only weakness in this pairing was himself. He knew he wasn't a good actor, and Quistis was pulling more than her fair share on that front. He decided he'd work even harder on researching places to go and things to do. The whole situation was uncomfortable. Even though he was Balamb Garden's Commander, he still felt as if he were Quistis Trepe's student when she was near him. It was a weird feeling. He was leading, but he also wanted her approval of his actions. He didn't want to let her down, but he was uncomfortable.

 _Well, I'll make it up by doing a good job. Tonight, I'll check in with Zell and see how things are going on the surveillance side. I have to stay focused. I don't want to be here indefinitely. The sooner we catch the criminals, the sooner we can all stop pretending._

Later that night when Squall and Quistis had walked their feet sore, ridden the bus until they couldn't stand it anymore, and checked out all the local restaurants, they finally made their way back to their apartment. They were only briefly detained by Courtney and Victoria when they were trying to pass them on the front porch. Although Squall felt uncomfortable talking to them, he knew he had to keep open and friendly communication with them. He had to keep up his cover and they could be used for information.

The only downside was that they were really nosy, and they could maybe tell that Squall and Quistis were not actually married. Squall just wanted to blend in, but he could tell that he wasn't doing a great job at it. He was going to have to make up some lies when they realized he wasn't going to work every day. His back-story was that he did freelance consulting. That sounded pretty vague and boring. He'd have to figure out how to make that believable to them although he didn't want to waste valuable time keeping up that front. Quistis could get away with being a rich homemaker and beautiful blond trophy wife, but Squall had to fake it.

Squall walked to the back bedroom while Quistis went to the kitchen to get some water. He picked up the phone and called through a secure line. He waited for Zell to pick up. It kept ringing.

* * *

Zell sat in his chair while glancing up at the computer monitors all around him. He hadn't noticed anything suspicious going on in any of the feeds yet, if he ever would. He wasn't sure this plan was going to work. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He stood up and stretched out his body before going to his mattress to flop down on his back. Sitting down so much was difficult for somebody who was used to a lot of strenuous physical activity. Especially when that person was as naturally hyper as Zell. He reached out and grabbed a candy bar that he'd gotten earlier at a convenience store. He needed some sugary energy to keep going. He unwrapped the candy bar and nearly popped the whole thing in his mouth. When he was still chewing he balled up the wrapper and threw it to the floor.

 _What's the point of keeping this place clean? No matter what I do, it's still dirty looking,_ he thought to himself while putting his arms behind his head.

The loud ringing of his phone made him sit up. It had to either be Garden or one of the SeeDs. He jumped up and walked towards his desk. He picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said slowly.

"Hello, is this Jack Smith?" Squall said.

"Oh yea, hey Squall," Zell said with a smile. It was only the first full day, and he had already gotten lonely.

"Yes, this is Walter Rivers," Squall said.

 _Okay, I guess he's going to play this newlywed game the whole mission._

"Hey... Walter," Zell said.

"How are you doing?" Squall said.

 _Okay, that means Squall wants a run down on everything I've done today. The mission leader is always down to business._

"Walter, everything is fine. I got some new computers for my job, and my home office is totally functional now. The picture quality is great and so is the audio. I'm really glad I got these computers."

Zell hoped he'd understand that the technical surveillance aspect was up and running.

"I haven't watched anything fun or interesting yet though, just some boring family sitcoms about married life. I'll let you know when I do find something interesting. I know you like to keep up with good movies and TV shows. Especially the gritty crime ones... the ones about kidnapping..."

"Yes, Jack that's fine," Squall cut him off. Zell was being overly clear even if this was a secure line.

"My neighborhood is... interesting. I'll let you know if I make any... friends. I know you are always looking for new and interesting... friends," Zell said unsure of how much more Squall would want to hear.

"That's great to hear that you are doing well Jack. I'll keep in touch with you from time to time. You have my number if you need to contact me. I look forward to speaking with you again. Good night," Squall finished.

"Uh, bye?" Zell said.

Squall hung up the phone.

Zell knew Squall wanted this mission to be over, but so did he. Loneliness was stressful for somebody as happy and sociable as Zell. He was going to be their eyes and ears and hurry this mission to its conclusion. He wasn't too sure if Irvine and Selphie would feel the same way, or even Quistis. He'd been watching Squall and Quistis through the surveillance footage, and wow, was that set up awkward. He said he'd been watching a boring family sitcom about married life, but it wasn't boring, and it was more of a tense soap opera anyway. He'd kept all the audio down so he didn't listen in on their specific conversations, but would be alerted to anything close to screaming. He didn't want to be any creepier than this mission required.

He just sat back and continued to watch his long soap opera while eating junk food. Hopefully the drama would start to pick up soon.

End of Chapter 3

Please read and review. I love getting your reviews. They make me smile a lot and let me know people are actually reading it and not only clicking on it and giving up halfway through.

Selphie getting a little yippy dog seems so funny to me. Irvine thought this mission was going to be a fun, relaxing, and sexy vacation. What was he thinking?! The idea of Squall and Quistis together has always seemed so fun to me. That would be so weird. They are too alike in a lot of ways to work. Oh the awkwardness!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Loneliness and Interruptions

The shadows on Rinoa's bedroom wall changed slowly as the hours went by. She had moved from her desk to her bed, and to now the floor. She was trying to fill the vast blocks of time that stretched out before her and filled her with loneliness and boredom.

The SeeDs had been gone for an entire week, and she was starting to go crazy. The first couple of days had gone smoothly enough. She filled her time with reading, helping Ami organize the library, and taking long walks with Angelo. She even tackled some things that she'd been putting off for a while. She had done loads of laundry, a thorough cleaning of her bathroom, shopped in Balamb for some much needed new clothes, and even had Angelo washed and groomed at the local pet shop in town. But then she started to run out of things to do to take her mind off Squall's absence and her loneliness.

She missed spending time with Squall. Not that she needed him and was a needy person. Or clingy. Well maybe she WAS clingy, but that was just the sorceress knight bond. Their case was special. They didn't have a co-dependency problem. They could function and find fulfillment outside of each other. It wasn't like she needed his presence and approval for her self-worth. It was the magic!

Anyways, she just enjoyed the peace of mind that she had when he was around and disliked the general anxiety that she was feeling now. He just had a calming presence on her even though he didn't talk to her much. And she missed her normal routine of sitting in his office reading or having one way conversations. Only one week had gone by, and she didn't know how many more to go. It was hard.

They'd gone on some missions before, but never in the past had they all been gone at the same time. If Squall and Zell were gone, she would spend some more time with Selphie and Quistis.

She even remembered the one time that Squall, Zell, Selphie and Quistis were all gone. Irvine had been nice and had spent a couple of days keeping her company. He had even taken her out on what he called a 'dinner date'. He was so charming, thoughtful, and extremely friendly.

The point was that she always had somebody around, or at least the prospect of one of them returning to Garden shortly. Nobody liked being completely alone, even Squall would admit to that, well, maybe not out loud, but he'd agree with the overall sentiment.

 _I'm so bored and lonely!_ she thought.

At least Angelo was there for her. She looked down at Angelo and petted the fluffy dog's head. Rinoa got down on her knees and gave Angelo a big doggy hug. Angelo responded with a wet kiss.

 _I miss my friends!_ she whined internally.

Although Angelo was a good companion, the dog was unable to talk back.

She obviously missed Squall, but she even missed Irvine and Selphie bickering or Quistis lecturing her on the proper use of GFs. Even the familiar sound of Zell choking on food would be a comfort to her right now.

She laughed to herself recalling Zell's eating habits. A week didn't go by without him choking on something. He was the only one of her friends who had been raised somewhat normally with a family nearly his entire life. His mom was still alive, and yet he was the sloppiest eater and really into junk food. If left to his own, he would probably only eat hot dogs, candy, chips, and soda.

 _You'd think his mom would have force-fed him vegetables. Well, I guess he's physically healthy. Must be good genes. No harm done._

Rinoa smiled to herself while thinking of her friends. She wished she could walk up to Squall right now and give him a big hug and bury her face into the fluffy collar of his leather jacket.

 _That'd be fun. Wait a second, I have keycard access to his apartment. Maybe if I hang out there, I won't feel as lonely. Maybe?_

Rinoa popped up from her bedroom floor and grabbed Angelo to go to Squall's apartment.

 _Hey, this will be fun. I can go poke around through his stuff when nobody is around!_

Rinoa walked off with a smile on her face. At least now she had something to do so she wouldn't be so bored. It wasn't the best idea she ever had, but it certainly wasn't the worst. The Odine Bangle incident would be hard to top, at least in peacetime.

After a brief jog down the corridor, she quickly found herself by Squall's apartment. His door made a beep as she swiped her keycard. She quickly went inside with Angelo and looked around. Everything was orderly as usual. It was almost like Squall was there, and that made Rinoa feel a little bit better. She leaned down to take off her boots because Squall made everybody remove their shoes when entering his apartment. But then she realized she didn't have to because he wasn't there.

She took a few steps into his living room with her boots still on. She felt very mischievous, and it gave her a little thrill.

 _This princess is a rebel!_

She frowned.

 _Wow, I'm so bored and lonely that I'm having fun walking around in Squall's apartment with my boots on!_

Well, she was having fun though, and she hadn't been having a whole lot of fun in the last week, so she let out a laugh and ran around Squall's couch with Angelo galloping behind her. She turned around and saw that she'd tracked some dirt on the floor.

 _Oops! I guess I'll make sure to vacuum before Squall gets back. I'll make a mental note of it,_ she thought to herself and added it to a disorganized to-do list in her head.

She marched off to his bedroom to start rifling through his closet for fun. Angelo walked behind her getting dog fur on everything.

Rinoa pawed through Squall's few possessions in his closet. All he had were a few changes of the most basic of clothes. Plain t-shirts, jeans, and his various Balamb Garden uniforms. There was his SeeD uniform, old cadet uniforms of various sizes, and some gym class uniforms. They were all hanging on hangers or folded neatly. Everything having its own place. Rinoa tried unsuccessfully to put everything back so that Squall wouldn't notice, but then quickly gave up on that idea. He had eagle eyes for disorder.

The gym class uniforms made her smile. She knew Squall was good with his gunblade, but she couldn't imagine him being forced to play basketball in a gym class. That seemed too normal of an activity for him, and it was funny. She remembered the other Gardens having basketball courts, so he must have been familiar with it too. She could imagine him standing around awkwardly thinking the whole thing was stupid and pointless. Actually thinking about Squall wearing gym shorts was hilarious.

 _Have I ever even seen his legs?_

Every time she'd worked out with him, he'd worn track pants unless she was forgetting something. He really didn't like to show any skin.

 _He sure likes to hide. He hides behind his cold exterior, his floppy brown hair, layers of unnecessary clothing, his training schedule, strict rules and regulations, and there's probably some other stuff I can't even think of right now._

Rinoa's smile turned to a frown. She knew Balamb Garden had good medical care for its students, but she wondered if there was any mental health care provided. Actually, most of them had mental quirks that probably weren't that healthy.

 _Except Selphie, she's always happy and upbeat,_ Rinoa thought with a smile.

Then Rinoa stopped at that thought. Maybe Selphie was TOO happy and upbeat to the point where she was covering all of her real emotions. She remembered a time when somebody brought her the wrong brand of glitter while she was making party invitations and she dissolved into energetic and angry tears. That couldn't be normal or healthy.

 _Okay, I don't want to think about this right now. Maybe later, I just want to have some fun here._

Rinoa continued on her happy quest of invading Squall's privacy. By the end of this day she'd know the type of shampoo he used and the kind of underpants he wore. She momentarily imagined he wore briefs and then put boxers on top of those just to be on the safe side. She tried to stifle a laugh at that thought, but she was having too much fun. Maybe this was definitely going too far, but it was Squall's own fault for leaving her alone for so long. Boredom had made her do it. She'd been alone for an entire WEEK. She felt that justified her actions enough to keep going through his things.

* * *

While Rinoa was digging through Squall's dresser drawers back in Balamb, Squall was changing his clothes in his bedroom in Deling City. He'd been worried that he would get out of shape during this mission, and Quistis seemed to have that same thought. They agreed that Walter and Kiki River could be health conscious and like to go jogging through one of the many parks in Deling City. That seemed to fit their profiles and wouldn't be out of character if anyone saw them exercising.

Squall turned around and eyed the bedroom door that he'd locked while he was changing. It was bad enough that he had to sleep in the same bed as Quistis, he couldn't imagine the awkwardness of her walking in on him as he got changed.

Squall looked down at his bare chest, it didn't look like he'd lost any muscle mass in the last week, but he had to be careful. He had to remember to continue to do push-ups and sit-ups. Muscle could be lost easily through inactivity. He slipped a t-shirt over his head and pulled on a pair of track pants before bending down to lace up his running shoes. When he was done, he unlocked the bedroom door and greeted Quistis who was waiting for him in the living room area. She was wearing tight black yoga pants that were cropped below her knees and a light blue form-fitting racer-back exercise top.

The black spandex and light blue combo made him think of Rinoa. He felt guilty, and just stood there staring at her with a lost expression on his face.

"Ready to go now?" Quistis asked. She was unnerved by his staring and silence.

Squall nodded his head slowly, and then they both exited their apartment.

While they were walking away from the stone steps of the apartment building, Quistis leaned in to loop her arm through his. He recoiled and tried to pull away. Quistis became upset and then she reached for his hand. He automatically withdrew from her. She was getting annoyed by his reaction to her.

"Walter!" she hissed at Squall.

Squall came to his senses and got back into SeeD mission mode. He extended his hand for her to take. She took it with her glossy lips clenched firmly together in irritation. They continued on down the sidewalk to head towards the park for a jog.

Squall would have been extra disappointed in himself if he'd known that his behavior with Quistis at that moment was being viewed by two nosy neighbors through an apartment window. He wanted to blend in and not stick out. Too bad his married life was becoming something of interest to Courtney and Victoria, the gossiping neighbors. Actually, the gossiping women were having fun making up stories to explain their young new neighbors. Despite their serious demeanors, 'Walter and Kiki River' both looked so young that they must be newlyweds, but they clearly weren't getting along very well. They were going to keep an eye on them. It was fun.

* * *

Quistis' sneakers pounded the sidewalk while she worked up a sweat and it brought a smile to her face. She'd only been on this mission for a week, but she was starting to get restless. Nothing had happened. There had been no further kidnappings and they hadn't noticed anybody suspicious around either. Would this mission ever end? She wanted to do a good job.

 _What happened to your dream vacation with Squall?_ Quistis thought sourly to herself.

Living with Squall wasn't the fun time she'd imagined. He was like a ghost room-mate. He went to bed only after she'd fallen asleep, and he got out of bed before she woke up. From a purely technical standpoint she worried about that. Squall needed his sleep to function, so she made sure to go to bed early and wake up late so he could get a full night's sleep. She felt lazy as a result, but it needed to be done. She had to make sure he was keeping himself healthy. Even if he was hurting her feelings, she still felt an obligation to take care of her commander/friend/fellow-orphan/previous love interest.

 _Stupid and stubborn man!_ Quistis yelled to herself while taking out her frustration through exercise.

She knew living with her was making Squall uncomfortable. He missed Rinoa, sure, but he could be a little bit more professional about this mission. She even made sure to go for a very long walk around the block a few times in the morning to give him some privacy.

Just how uptight was Squall? Well she wasn't exactly sure to the extent, but it was definitely noticeable.

He'd only been physically separated from Rinoa for a week, and he was getting somewhat jittery. She maybe wouldn't have noticed this if she hadn't been living with him, but it was visible. It was sad. It wasn't like he'd lost a limb. He'd see her again.

 _If the commander can't fulfill his duty on this mission, I'm going to have to work extra hard and make sure it is a success._

Quistis glanced sideways through her sunglasses to see Squall jogging beside her. Maybe the exercise would improve his mood. She felt like he was a pet she had to care for. While she was thinking this a yipping sound became louder and she felt something brush against her leg. She turned around to see a little fluffy puff ball behind her.

She reached down to take hold of the little yipping creature. Squall kept jogging in place beside her to keep his heart rate up.

"I wonder whose this is?" she said out loud. It was more for her own benefit than Squall's because she knew he would not respond.

A running figure was coming into view from further down the park's sidewalk. Actually it was two figures. A petite woman and a lanky man were quickly running in their direction.

"Cookie, come back to momma!" the woman yelled.

 _Unbelievable,_ Quistis thought as she recognized the two figures as Selphie and Irvine.

Selphie eventually caught up to Quistis and Squall. She would have been able to run faster if she hadn't been wearing uncomfortable yet fashionable looking clothes and shoes. Even though she'd been running, she wasn't breathing very heavily. She was SeeD trained and in top fitness. Irvine on the other hand was panting and keeling over by the time he caught up with her.

"Oh, hello Kiki! It looks like you've found my pet. Thanks!" she chirped while scooping up the little puff ball from Quistis' arms.

"YOUR pet?" Squall asked. It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"Yes Walter, MY pet! It's fashionable for women to have little pets, isn't it? I thought that I'd like to be in fashion here! I don't want to stick out!" she exclaimed. "I love my little dog!"

"Dog?" Squall asked while looking at the yipping fluff ball in disbelief.

"Yes, of course! Cookie is a DOG!" she said.

Squall looked down closely at the 'dog'. It was a little fluffy puff ball with a similarly fluffy tail and big eyes. It was light tan with warm brown tinged fur. It looked like it could be either canine, feline, vulpine, or a rodent. Actually even after intensely staring at it for a moment he couldn't tell. It was like a fluffy foxy puppy cat rat.

 _I guess out of all those options, it does seem most canine,_ Squall thought while trying to classify the animal. _I guess it could also look alien._

Squall was glad Rinoa's taste in dog breeds was different than Selphie's. Angelo was a working dog. He could protect Rinoa and he didn't look so tiny and silly. Rinoa's dog seemed more practical and definitely more intelligent as the dog had not stopped yipping.

 _Actually, Selphie's dog is practical for this particular mission. She's actually doing a good job fitting in,_ Squall thought to himself. Selphie was technically being professional, even if he wasn't thrilled with the forms it took.

After turning away from the little dog, he noticed Irvine's startling appearance. He wasn't sure what Selphie and Irvine had been up to, except for the extremely obvious, but he looked trashed. His complexion wasn't doing well, he had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked tired. So very tired. Maybe having a 'newlywed' vacation with Selphie was more than Irvine had bargained for. Selphie was Irvine's current occupational hazard. A threat to his general health and well-being. Maybe he wasn't up for this challenge. He wasn't SeeD.

"Would y'all like to join us for dinner this evening?" Irvine said in a pleading tone while trying to catch Squall's cold eyes.

A moment of understanding passed between the two men. Irvine needed a break from having non-stop alone time with Selphie. Well, Selphie AND her new puppy. The tiny excitable dog was basically a canine version of Selphie. Limitless energy in a small package.

 _I'm the leader of this mission. I need to make sure we all survive. I'd better bail Irvine out of this mess, at least for a little while,_ Squall thought.

"Yes, that would be nice. How about we meet you at 7pm at that little fancy restaurant on the corner of Main and Hill St.? And I doubt that dogs will be allowed there Cassidy, so you'd better leave your puppy at home," Squall said.

Selphie looked sad, but Irvine looked happy and relieved. Very relieved. And immensely grateful towards Squall. Squall took a step back before Irvine had a thought to give him a man hug. He had enough pretend physical interactions from women as it was. He didn't want to add Irvine into the mix.

* * *

Late in the evening Rinoa woke up face down in a pillow with Angelo curled up beside her. She pulled back her face and tried to orient herself. Something didn't seem right. She sat up and looked down at herself in the dim light. Crumbs were stuck to her and she was wearing Squall's fur collared leather jacket.

 _Oh, now I remember what I was doing before I accidentally took a nap. A really long nap._

She'd been having fun going through Squall's apartment for most of the day, but she started to feel really pathetic because of it by evening. She really needed a hug, so she did the next best thing. She'd marched into Squall's closet to pull out his leather jacket. She put it on, climbed into his bed with some granola bars she found in his pantry, and had herself a little pity party. Angelo had happily joined her.

So now she was groggy, wearing Squall's jacket, and his bed was a rumpled mess and covered in crumbs and dog hair. This really hadn't improved her outlook on life. This wasn't rock bottom, but it was pretty bad. She was glad nobody could see her now.

 _I gotta stop wallowing in my misery and loneliness here! It isn't like anybody has died. They'll be back. I should be using this time as an opportunity to do things for myself and by myself. I used to do that when I was with the Forest Owls. I know! I haven't see Zone and Watts for awhile. Maybe I'll take a little trip to go see them. That will be fun! It's not like Squall would want to do that with me anyways. I'll go get ready to visit them tomorrow. I'll wake up bright and early and get a start on the day._

Rinoa looked down at herself. She was already in bed. The bed wasn't hers, but close enough. She shrugged her shoulders.

 _Might as well go back to sleep now,_ she thought as she flopped back down onto Squall's pillow. It smelled like Squall's shampoo and his apparently magical conditioner.

 _Nobody could possibly have hair that glossy,_ she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

That same evening, Squall was sitting on the couch while watching the local TV news broadcast. His eyes were glazing over. He was partaking in his nightly ritual of letting Quistis fall asleep first. He wished he could just go to sleep at the same time as her, but he just couldn't do it without feeling terrible. Too bad he was so tired. He hadn't been sleeping well, and their dinner with Irvine and Selphie was draining to say the least.

Against common sense and his direct prompting, Selphie had brought her puppy to the restaurant. She thought it had been okay because the dog was semi-concealed within her big purse. Although people couldn't easily see the dog, they could hear it's little barks. Squall tried to hide the sound of barking by moving his chair around noisily and clanging his fork and knife loudly on his plate during dinner, but it hadn't helped. Squall had a feeling if they had tried to pull that off in their regular clothes, they would have been kicked out of that fancy restaurant. Thankfully, since they looked well-to-do, they were mostly left alone.

Anyways, while they ate and chatted, Selphie and Irvine hinted at the fact that they hadn't been able to discover anything about the recent kidnappings. They had to talk in allusions as they couldn't outright say they were talking about their undercover mission, but they all understood each other. Selphie hadn't seen anything interesting, and Irvine looked like he was just trying to hold on to dear life. Squall wasn't expecting much out of him on this mission other than looking like a husband. And if he was actually Selphie's husband, that is exactly what he'd look like, a frazzled shell of his former self. So even Irvine was doing a good job on some level.

Squall frowned at that thought. He usually prided himself on his well honed capabilities, but he hadn't been able to discover anything useful all week. He might as well have been Irvine, and he was pretty sure Irvine wasn't even trying to find the kidnappers. He didn't feel very good about his own part in the mission.

He wanted to stop the kidnappers before they snatched any more innocent women. While being in a relationship with Rinoa, he'd gotten used to the role of heroic rescuer of damsels in distress. If he failed an unknown women, he felt that by association he had failed Rinoa. He didn't want to fail at all, his innermost being always felt that the stakes were always life and death no matter what. Maybe that wasn't a good way to look at life, but it was one of his key motivations.

His mind went down a quickly spirally slippery slope that ended with a vision of Rinoa almost being sealed in the Sorceress Memorial forever. That's what happens when you fail somebody, so you can't ever fail. Never let your guard down.

 _Maybe there won't be any more kidnappings,_ Squall thought. _Maybe we'll never found out who did this, and we won't have to._

He stared at the TV screen to see the weather report. It was summertime, and it looked like it would continue to be hot.

 _Big surprise_ , he thought sarcastically.

A flash crossed the screen. A breaking news story was being covered. The weather report was being interrupted. Suddenly there was a blank wall with a policeman at a microphone and camera flashes going off. The policeman cleared his throat before speaking.

"Tonight we were notified of another kidnapping. We will not be releasing the victim's name right now. But the person is a 24 year old woman from Deling. She'd been missing since last night, and her husband was given a ransom demand. We urge all women to stay safe and not to travel alone. We are working hard to apprehend the culprit or culprits. Please stay calm, but use common sense. Hopefully, we'll be able to find this woman safe and sound. Thank you," the policeman finished.

The screen cut back to the normal local news desk. The newscasters looked flustered by the new information. They made a few comments about it before getting back to the regularly scheduled news stories.

 _I should wake Quistis for this._

Squall got up from the couch and walked over to the bedroom. He hesitated for a second before opening the door. The light from the hallway spilled onto Quistis' sleeping form. His socks barely made a noise as he crept towards her.

 _Women's nightgowns are a lot thinner than I thought they'd be,_ he thought with apprehension as he looked down at her. _Not that I was thinking about them._

"Kiki," he said quietly.

She continued to sleep.

"Quistis," he said.

She remained unaware of his presence.

"Quistis Trepe," he said slightly louder, although not by much.

Squall walked over to the light switch and flipped it on and off a few times. He then left it in the 'on' position. Somehow she was sleeping through this too.

 _I guess I don't have to sneak into bed as carefully as I do. She's just as hard to wake up as Rinoa when she's napping. Maybe all women are like this. Maybe I should poke her._

Squall reached out his finger to tap her on the shoulder while she continued to breathe rhythmically. Right before he touched her bare shoulder, he curled his hand up into a fist.

 _This feels wrong._

He didn't want to touch her during the daytime, and he certainly didn't want to touch her while she was sleeping peacefully in the nighttime in his bed.

He ran his hands though his brown hair in frustration before getting an idea. He walked over and retrieved his bed pillow from his side of the bed before returning to her side. He reached out and started tapping her with his pillow.

"Quistis wake up," he said while poking her with the pillow.

Somehow, in Squall's mind, this was a perfectly acceptable way to way up somebody.

From Quistis' point-of-view she was being awakened with a fluffy pillow coming at her face.

 _The kidnappers are here!_ Quistis thought suddenly as she was awoken.

All of her SeeD training said to retaliate, but she repressed her urge to fight back, as this was what the mission called for. Her eyes widened as she saw it was just Squall. He was in his pajamas with an awkward and unsure look on his face while poking her lightly with a pillow.

 _What does he think he's doing?!_ Quistis thought.

She sat up and looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. The sheets had fallen down to her lap.

"There's been another kidnapping. They just reported it on the news," Squall stated while briefly glancing in her direction.

Quistis continued to sit up in bed to process what he'd said.

"I, um, can adjust the air conditioning... if it's too cold in here," he said while not looking at her. "Why don't you put on a robe and meet me in the living room?" he said while turning to leave.

Quistis didn't understand why he mentioned the air conditioning, until she looked down at her thin nightgown.

 _Oh crap!_ she thought.

She jumped out of bed and grabbed a robe and then quickly joined him in the living room near the couch. He stood with his arms crossed and his head to the side, deep in thought.

"Not only did we not succeed in getting you or Selphie kidnapped, we also missed any suspicious persons out there," Squall said bitterly. He didn't like mission failure.

Quistis liked mission success just as much as Squall did. They were both dedicated professionals, but despair would do no good. They just had to work harder, maybe try some different strategies.

"We've only been here for a week. Maybe they had their eyes on this woman since before we arrived. There's still time. We can catch them. Nobody has died yet..." she said.

"That doesn't mean it won't happen this time," Squall said with anger at himself.

He internalized things much more deeply than most people. If any harm came to the current victim, he'd end up blaming himself personally.

"Maybe we could try some different approaches to get noticed," she offered.

She didn't have any current suggestions, but they both could probably brainstorm something.

Squall nodded his head while reaching for the phone. He would have to contact the others.

End of Chapter 4

* * *

I know it was pretty silly to make Rinoa go through Squall's stuff, but I can totally imagine her trying on Squall's furry coat when he isn't around. I would! That's a great coat! And in the game she did kind of take his ring. "I like your ring Squall. It's mine now!"

Please read and review. I love getting reviews! It helps me want to write more. I can't wait to get Squall and Rinoa back together. Rinoa has to take charge of her life and do something soon. She's too sad and mopey.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Lunch

Selphie and Irvine's apartment had a layout similar to Quistis and Squall's. It was a luxurious yet compact one bedroom apartment in a wealthier area of Deling City, and it was nicely furnished. The main difference between the two apartments was the people who lived there.

It had only been a little bit over a week, but the apartment had acquired its owners' personalities already. Well mostly Selphie's personality, which tended to outshine anybody else's.

The refrigerator was covered in photos of Selphie and Irvine kissing, inspirational quotes, recipes, cute baby animal pictures, and lastly, pictures of her new dog, Cookie. They were all held up with sparkly glitter magnets in the shape of sunflowers. Selphie obviously missed being able to post personal things online. Her spirit was dauntless and unrelenting in the face of any adversity, so she had resorted to 'blogging' the old-school way. She figured she could put these things online at a later date when the mission was over. In the meantime she was satiating her desire to blog and social network through refrigerator postings and cork board pin-ups. It was close enough.

Her flair for style was also seen in other areas of her new home. Unlike Quistis and Squall's apartment, which was only decorated by the rental company, Selphie had placed little decorative bowls of candy on nearly every end table. There were decorative pillows, decorative figurines, decorative... well everything. Selphie apparently had been enjoying shopping with Irvine.

Irvine's presence in the apartment was much more subtle. It was more apparent through the smell of barbeque and the softly playing country music in the background. He wasn't much for decorating, that was more of Selphie's department. He'd just laid back and let her do her thing. That was his style.

He currently was laying back on the couch, relaxing, and letting Selphie do her thing while waiting for Squall and Quistis to arrive. He was just trying to rest and stay cool as the summer heat continued. He was wearing a light colored cotton shirt, halfway buttoned up to reveal the top of his chest. He didn't like to button the top buttons because it was hot, and also because he was Irvine Kinneas. His sense of fashion gave off the aura of being loose and relaxed, with a little bit of skin thrown in because you never know who might be checking you out. He basically wanted his vibe to be the opposite of Squall's, except for the good looking part. Yea, even he'd noticed that about Squall, he wasn't blind. Anyways, he didn't want to ever seem like Commander Uptight in his demeanor. That guy was all business.

Speaking of business. Squall and Quistis were coming over for lunch, but it was really a strategic meeting. Business and Squall went hand in hand. They'd been awakened by Squall calling late last night. There had been another kidnapping. They had to reassess their current strategy to get this case solved. And that was why they were coming over. Irvine just had to lay back and wait for it to get started.

Selphie flopped down on the couch next to Irvine's reclined figure.

"Butch, you're so cute!" she exclaimed.

Selphie had on a simple short sundress covered with small sunflowers. It was flowy and perfect for a hot day. Outside was scorching, but the inside of their apartment was delightfully cool.

"Do you want a kiss?", she said in a teasing manner.

Irvine gave her a little wink and then closed his eyes and puckered up lazily. His arms were wide and propped up on the back of the couch with Selphie kneeling next to him on the plush couch cushions. He waited a moment while the anticipation built. The next thing he knew a dog face was being shoved into his puckered lips.

"Kisses!" Selphie laughed while sticking Cookie, the little yippy dog, in Irvine's face.

Irvine opened his eyes and pushed back at Selphie and her little dog.

 _Ugh, dog germs!_ he thought crossly while trying to rub his face clean from the dog drool.

"Dog germs!" he yelled angrily. "What'd I tell you about not doin' that?"

Selphie leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek, feigning being sorry for her little prank.

"But Cookie loves her daddy so much!"

Irvine glared over at Selphie. She could be so irritating, but she was so free-spirited and hot. Really hot. Did he mention that she was hot? He was conflicted, but the physicality of their relationship generally overrode his distaste for some of the other aspects of her personality. His eyes softened while looking over at her. He reached out and pushed some of her hair behind her ears.

"It's alright, darlin' Cassidy. Just don't do it again. Don't want to make Cookie's daddy angry now."

He reached out and pulled the petite SeeD into his lap playfully while the little dog jumped down and ran around the couch a few times while barking shrilly. Selphie wrapped her arms around Irvine's neck tightly while humming happily along with the country song in the background.

"I love it when you do that," he said softly in her ears.

"I know," she said while continuing to hum.

Irvine allowed Selphie to hum a few minutes before placing a soft and slow kiss on her that took her breath away.

 _Finally some peace and quiet,_ Irvine thought to himself while continuing to kiss Selphie and being kissed in return.

The kiss allowed Irvine to remove himself from the constant barrage of Selphie's ceaseless talking if only for a short while. Not that he didn't like Selphie, he just liked her in small doses. Small doses with a set beginning and ending time. He needed rest from her, but this mission was a large pill that had quickly become too large for him to swallow. She was overly enthusiastic about the whole pretend 'newlyweds' thing to say the least.

Many Garden students had been either orphans or had a difficult family life growing up and those experiences shaped their personalities. Irvine noticed that in many cases, that made the girls be a lot more needy and forwardly affectionate than the general populace. Selphie's affections in combination with her overflowing energy was more than what he'd could handle comfortably. He hoped these sweet moments of peaceful pleasure would help balance out the times when she was running him ragged, but he was getting worn out nonetheless.

They were in the process of making out when they heard a firm and evenly spaced knocking at the door. They jumped and pulled back from each other. Selphie removed Irvine's arms from around her so she could jump up to greet their guests. Irvine continued to relax on their couch while using the back of his had to wipe off some smeared cherry lip gloss. It was probably Squall and Quistis and he wanted to look semi-presentable for them. It was weird that they came all the way up to their apartment, somebody must have let them in the front door downstairs.

Selphie smoothed out her dress before she unlocked their door and pulled it open with a huge smile.

"Oh look, it's Walter and Kiki River! So happy you could come over for lunch! Everything is better with friends!" she said incredibly loudly into the hallway before closing and locking the door.

Squall and Quistis strode into the apartment while looking around. Even though it was pretty hot out, Squall wore tan khaki pants and a light blue shirt, while Quistis had a casual pink sundress on. It was their first time visiting Selphie and Irvine's apartment. There was the smell of barbeque on top of the underlying smell of dog. The doggy smell reminded Squall's subconscious of Rinoa, and he was saddened without exactly knowing why.

 _Time to get this mission on the way to being completed,_ Squall thought wearily.

"Okay, let's remember that this is a business meeting," Squall said while pulling out his cell phone. He wasn't wasting any time with greetings. All business, all the time.

Selphie led the way into the kitchen where the food was already prepared and waiting for them. There was barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, a salad, and a large pitcher of sweetened iced tea on their table.

 _Looks like Irvine made the food, or at least chose what we're having,_ Squall thought.

His mouth watered as the smells wafted throughout the room. Quistis and Squall had been eating out excessively for the past week in order to maintain maximum exposure. Although the restaurant food was nice, it was too fancy for Squall's taste, and it was also probably too rich for his health. He was going to enjoy something home cooked.

Selphie's dog trailed after them into the kitchen while barking at the newcomers. Country music and dog barking was going to be the background soundtrack to their lunch. At least they would be able to talk somewhat freely with all the noise. Luckily their apartment walls weren't paper thin, but they were trying to stay in character nearly the whole time they would be on this mission. That way there would be fewer slip ups.

They all took their seats around the table while Squall dialed up Zell. Once the call was connected, he put Zell on speakerphone so they could be informed at the same time. They all began eating while Squall spoke.

"Another woman has been kidnapped and right under our noses. I placed a call to General Caraway. I will meet with him tomorrow to get any additional information about the current kidnapping. Hopefully there will be some trends that we can use to catch these criminals. Currently however, we need to reevaluate our strategy. We have to catch these people before somebody gets killed. Who knows what is happening to that woman right now, or where she even is?" he said while making a tight fist.

Zell's tinny voice came through the speakerphone," I could, like, rent a car and drive it around the city for a couple of days to see if anything is happening out there."

Squall could only imagine what an energetic person like Zell was feeling like being trapped alone in a small studio apartment. He probably wanted to get out of there and get this mission done fast.

 _That makes two of us,_ Squall thought.

He grabbed some chicken, corn, and salad and began eating while listening to Zell.

"I could dress up as a clown, make balloon animals, and stake out the park that is near where some of the women have been taken... or I could..." Zell continued while throwing out weird ideas. He really was tired of being stuck in his studio apartment.

"That's nuts!" Selphie interjected. "But Butch and I could go to that outdoor rock concert that's happening tomorrow night in Deling City's central park and check out what's happening over there... for exposure!"

Selphie's suggestion was nearly as bad as Zell's, but Selphie being Selphie was always learning towards wanting to have fun.

"These suggestions don't seem to be strategically sound," Quistis replied to the air while taking a bite of salad.

Irvine just kept quiet while enjoying some good barbeque and corn on the cob. Good food, good friends, he was happy.

"None of these ideas lead to the women being more prominent and more likely to get kidnapped," Squall said between taking bites of barbeque chicken.

Squall felt like he was back to square one. He was no closer to catching the kidnappers and he knew the longer this went on the more likely a women would be killed. If anything, he felt like he was further away from helping anyone. He didn't want one more senseless death on his conscience.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds in the apartment were those of chewing, country music playing in the background, and an occasional dog bark.

Irvine took a long swallow from his sweet iced tea before breaking the silence.

"Well, haven't we mostly been walking around town with our wives? Most of the other kidnappings happened with women out by themselves, walking a dog, jogging, or even while sleeping in their own homes when their husbands were away on business. They were more vulnerable at those times. Selphie and Quistis just don't seem defenseless enough. Maybe they should go out alone for a couple of hours every evening, just to switch things up. Then they'd be EASY targets," Irvine said while pointing at Selphie and Quistis while making a popping gun noise at each of them.

Squall was taken aback by the simplicity of it.

 _He's right,_ Squall thought to himself. _Why didn't I think of that before? I've been too busy being protective when I should be laid back and lazy like Irvine._

Irvine's suggestion was best by far. It also was the only one, apart from Zell canvassing the area, that made any sense. Although Squall ventured to guess that it also stemmed from Irvine's need for some alone time away from Selphie. Squall was no stranger to the need for alone time. Pure solitude to recharge oneself. He sighed internally while thinking of constantly being around Quistis. Their personal habits weren't that different, but it was still hard.

"He's right," Squall said while looking down at his plate.

Irvine raised his eyebrows at Squall. It was nice to get some recognition from the commander.

"That makes the most sense. Selphie and Quistis have to look like easy targets. Criminals choose their marks for a variety of reasons, but they don't want a challenge. You have to look wealthy to make a good ransom feasible, but you also have to look easy," Squall said.

"You want us to look like easy women?" Selphie said with a little laugh while pointing her half-chewed corn on the cob him.

"Yes," he responded seriously, not picking up on her joke.

Quistis glared over at Selphie. The look meant, 'Squall is oblivious, don't tease him!'

Quistis was profoundly irritated by Squall, but also somewhat protective of him and his bundle of personality quirks. His really annoying and somewhat hurtful quirks.

 _Squall has his obvious problems and limitations, but he can deftly swing a gunblade and professionally take care of military business. Maybe we should all just be grateful for that,_ Quistis thought to herself.

She was trying to stay positive about the whole 'Leonhart Situation' she found herself in. Squall wasn't exactly the dashing and pretty prince she'd hoped he'd be. He could look like a handsome fairy-tale prince or knight, but he was more of a military machine than anything else. He certainly wasn't any romantic sorceress' knight from a movie that any little girl would dream of.

Squall was just really lucky he was so handsome, it made women, and maybe some men, put up with his non-stop crap. He should thank Raine and Laguna Loire's genes for that.

 _I wonder what his mother was like._

Quistis snapped to her senses. She realized she'd been musing about Squall Leonhart too much again. Old habits die hard.

"Yes, I remember teaching about factors criminals look for when choosing their victims," she said while trying to gain control of herself. "If we want to look like easy targets, we should be by ourselves more often. Have submissive and unsure postures. Look distracted and quiet. We don't want to look like we'd put up too much of a fight, but we also have to flaunt our wealth."

Quistis and Selphie looked at each other. Maybe they should have been better targets this week, and then they'd already be kidnapped with the mission on the way to being over. They felt guilty.

"You don't have a submissive posture!" Selphie said to Quistis

"You aren't ever quiet," Quistis responded.

"You look like too strong of a fighter!" Selphie said.

"You always have a loud yipping dog with you," Quistis said irritably.

"You're always clinging to your husband!" they both yelled.

Irvine grabbed the back of Selphie's dress and pulled her gently away from Quistis before they both started slapping each other. He understood that they were frustrated, but he didn't think this was helping. He just wanted some quiet. He thought Squall's presence would give him that. Maybe he should hang out with Squall some more.

"Hey Squallter... I mean Walter. Why don't we go out for drinks more often and leave our wives alone? Give them some vulnerability time. That'd be... strategic," Irvine said with a smile and shrug.

Irvine could just imagine hanging out with Squall. Some nice relaxing beers, and silence. The wonderful silence that came along with sitting next to Squall. Just drinking beers, and watching the occasional women walk by, oh the bliss. It'd do Irvine some good, and Leonhart always needed some loosening up too. Irvine figured it would be good for his health, especially since he didn't have Rinoa's presence to soothe away his tension. Even Irvine could notice that Rinoa was good for him. Well since Rinoa wasn't around, he thought this would help him out some. It wouldn't do for the mission leader to snap from the tension. Irvine was just trying to do his part, for the team, and in extension, for the mission.

"Yea, why don't we do that. Rich leisurely guys, hanging out, drinking. I think it fits our profiles. Would normal men want to hang out with their wives all the time?" Irvine asked.

 _Well Squall would, but he's not normal. Rinoa's got him on a magic leash,_ Irvine thought with a chuckle.

"Um, maybe not?" Squall replied in an unsure voice. He was going to be more open to Irvine's ideas for the mission than he initially thought he'd be. Maybe he'd try some of his tactics.

They continued to eat lunch while Irvine laid out some general plans.

* * *

Rinoa woke up in Squall's bed and rolled over to embrace the big cuddly figure beside her. She always thought that hugs were a great way to start the day.

"Angelo! Today is going to be great!"

Angelo's ears perked up, and he snuggled his face into her shoulders. She stretched out her arms around her dog and smiled.

 _Well, no time to lose. I'd better get packed if I want to get to Timber today,_ Rinoa thought happily.

She threw back Squall's bed covers and looked down at herself. Apparently she'd kicked off her skirt in the nighttime, but she was still wearing Squall's leather coat. Food crumbs and dog hair littered his sheets. She sprang out of bed and Angelo followed her. She almost went to make his bed, but she thought if she left it unmade, she'd remember to clean up later. She dropped his jacket onto his bed.

 _I guess I'd better do his sheets and clean up before he gets back. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to do that. I don't have to bother making his bed now._

"Let's go back to my room Angelo! We need to get packed! We should catch one of the morning trains to Timber."

Rinoa took a quick look around and Squall's formerly neat and tidy apartment before she quickly exited and locked his door. She had to go decide what she wanted to pack.

* * *

It was midmorning by the time Rinoa got to the Balamb train station. She purchased a ticket and waited around with Angelo in the sunshine. Her face hurt from smiling so much. She hadn't been this happy in over a week. Zone and Watts would be so surprised to see her. She hadn't kept up with them as much as she thought she would after the conflict with Ultimecia.

She looked over at the pile of luggage she'd packed. She'd meant to just take a duffel bag because she thought she'd only stay for a day or two, but then she'd gotten carried away. Now she had a duffle bag and a luggage bag with wheels. She was packing for two since she was including her dog stuff. She would have taken more, but she had to be able to manage it herself.

She saw the train pull into the station and she hurried to get herself and Angelo seated in the public train compartment. It wasn't long before the familiar rumble of a train in motion lulled her into a sense of relief. Each mile that brought her closer to the Galbadian continent filled her with increasing satisfaction. She was finally starting to feel better after her long week of loneliness.

 _I should have thought of this days ago. I can't wait to see the looks of surprise on Zone and Watts' faces._

Rinoa put her arm around Angelo and closed her eyes. She wanted to catch a little bit of rest before her stop in Timber.

Before she knew it, she was awoken to the sound of pulling into the Timber Station.

 _Well, here I am... in Timber... to see my friends. Actually... maybe I should pay Caraway a visit. I can always stop by to see Zone and Watts on my return trip. Yea, actually I could do just that. It's not like I told them about my surprise visit. I'll still be able to surprise them on the way back. Yea, that's what I'll do,_ Rinoa thought to herself while decidedly not getting up at the Timber stop.

Her stomach got a little bit fluttery at the sudden change of plans, but once the train got moving again she felt better. The decision had already been made by the train. She'd just continue onwards to Deling City. That wouldn't be too weird. She had grown up there. She still had a bedroom there. Her relationship with her father wasn't the best, but it wouldn't hurt to pay him a visit every now and then. She always hoped Squall would have a better relationship with Laguna, and it would be hypocritical of her to not occasionally make an effort with her own father.

It wasn't her fault that her father also happened to live in the city where Squall and all her friends were on an undercover mission. Coincidences happened every day. It wasn't like she had an ulterior motive to see Squall and Quistis.

Rinoa smiled at the thought of seeing Squall again. Then she pictured him with his arm around Quistis. Rinoa frowned at the thought of seeing Squall and Quistis together.

 _They're just doing a mission together,_ she said reassuringly to herself for the thousandth time.

Rinoa reached over Angelo's furry head and grabbed a book out of her duffle bag. It would be awhile before she got to Deling City. She was glad she'd brought tons of snacks and water bottles.

By the time Rinoa pulled into the Deling City train station that evening, she was exhausted from her day of travel. The sun had just set and the sky was darkening against the rosy hues of twilight.

 _Okay, first things first. Angelo needs a potty break!_

Rinoa set off to find a spot for Angelo, and once that was finished, she set off towards the nearest bus stop. She'd set her giant duffle on top of her luggage bag and wheeled them both towards the stop.

 _I'll just take this bus to the Caraway Mansion stop. Then I'll be able to see my father, and I'll have a place for the night._

When she was actually on the bus, the thought of seeing her father filled her with fear. Once she got inside the mansion, he might lock her in there for good, and Squall wouldn't even know. It wasn't like he hadn't succeeded in locking her up before. She remembered the last time she had been in the mansion, and she shuddered. Maybe it'd be safer to visit Caraway when she had a witness. Somebody who would be protective and on her side. Maybe she should wait for somebody like that.

 _Actually... Zell is staying all by himself, and it isn't exactly like he's undercover. He's more of a behind-the-scenes sort of guy on this mission. But he must be so lonely by himself. He's the sort of person who really needs people around him. Maybe I should pay him a visit just so he knows where I am. If I stop by Caraway's later, Zell will know where I am. That way somebody else will know I'm there and I'll be safer in case my father tries to lock me up. Yea, I should definitely stop by and see Zell first. It isn't exactly an emergency, but it is safety related._

Rinoa pulled a little slip of paper out of her pocket. The small and neat handwriting belonged to Squall, and it had all of their contact information on it. It had been so sweet of him to give it to her, even if it wasn't technically according to protocol and only for an emergency. Actually, no matter what the reason, it probably was a big no-no. Well, she wouldn't abuse his trust. She'd leave the 'couples' alone to do their undercover work. She'd only be visiting Zell.

She looked at his address again. A frown formed on her face. His apartment wasn't too many stops down from the shopping district, but it wasn't in a very good neighborhood. Actually it was the sort of neighborhood she'd want to avoid when she was alone.

 _Luckily I have my best friend with me,_ Rinoa thought while looking down at Angelo.

Her dog was a good fighter, and she felt safer knowing she wouldn't be entirely alone while going to Zell's new neighborhood. A big dog would scare off a lot of people. She didn't want to look like an easy target for mugging. Especially when she was wheeling around some heavy luggage.

She stepped off the bus when it got close to Zell's address. The streets looked a lot dingier than the ones she'd just been riding through in the shopping district. The people looked scarier too.

 _I'll be fine. I've lived in Deling City most of my life... but I was mostly in a heavily guarded mansion. Well, I lived on a train in Timber with a bunch of guys!_

She was heartened by that fact. She had been in rough spots and pulled through. She was tough.

 _But Timber was a smaller and friendlier location than Deling City. And Zone and Watts looked out for me like a little sister._

Her brows furrowed in frustration and fear. She started to imagine all the people nearby looked suspiciously like muggers.

 _Maybe I should have packed lighter. Did I think to pack my weapon? I can't remember what I decided. If I did, it's in the very bottom of my bag,_ Rinoa thought while panicking.

She took a deep breath while dragging her luggage along with her

 _Okay, you'll be fine. Just stay calm. Just do what Squall would want you to do. His decisions are logical and he's always thinking of safety._

She briefly closed her eyes and imagined Squall standing in front of her. She got ready to listen to his advice.

 _Stay at Garden, people will be there to protect you until we get back,_ imaginary-Squall said.

 _Uh oh, I already didn't do that!_

She imagined Squall again.

 _If you run into any trouble, contact me, and I'll come help you,_ imaginary-Squall said.

 _I can't do that! You're on an undercover mission. I'd ruin it!_

Rinoa was visibly becoming nervous. She was in a scary neighborhood, nobody knew where she was. Well, she'd told the Ami and Nida that she was going to Timber for a few days, but she wasn't IN Timber. If something happened to her, nobody would know! She grabbed a firm hold on Angelo's leash and walked with purpose towards Zell's address.

 _Well I guess I don't have any option but to find Zell right away,_ she thought while trying to bolster her spirits.

When she finally saw Zell's apartment building Angelo tried to pull away from her. She pulled back on the leash to control her dog, but Angelo was excited by the alley cats that were hanging out on top of some old trash cans.

 _I don't like the look of those iron bars,_ she thought while looking at the doors and windows of the apartment building.

After a childhood of being locked up at her father's insistence, Rinoa found the idea of being locked up or confined to be intolerable. She loved free and open fields and settings, but she needed to overcome her fear, so she reached out to take hold of the door. It swung open with a rusty creak.

 _Should I ring up and let him know I'm here?_

Locks, intercoms, and door buzzers were a common security feature in most apartment buildings, but she didn't see any of that in this particular building.

 _I guess I'll just walk up and knock on his door._

She looked at an old elevator and the dusty stairs on her right. Although she didn't want to drag all her stuff up the stairs, she didn't want to be in that scary old elevator when it decided to stop working.

Her feet made creaking noises as she ascended the stairs to the second level.

 _Luckily, he's only on the second floor._

She wheeled her bags to Zell's door, and took a deep breath while knocking lightly. Movement could be heard from inside.

 _Oh no! What if this address isn't right and Zell's not here?! What if a random weird man lives here!? What if..._

Rinoa's panic was interrupted by the creaking of the battered door starting to open.

End of Chapter 5

OKAY I'm excited for finally getting Rinoa into the same city as the rest of them! I wonder how Squall is going to take it? Rinoa's going to be a distraction for him I bet.

Thanks for all the nice reviews, they help me want to keep writing this. I'm trying my best. I'm pretty new to writing down stories, but I've always liked drawing comics and imagining funny scenarios.


	6. Chapter 6

Newlywed Game Chapter 6 - Slumber Party

 _Oh no! What if this address isn't right, and Zell's not here?! What if a random weird man lives here!? What if..._

Rinoa's panic was interrupted by the creaking of the battered door starting to open.

A familiar yet muffled 'tch' sound came from inside the apartment.

The door swung open and she was instantly greeted by Zell's beautifully sharp toothed smile. Relief flooded her and she ran inside while dragging her luggage. Angelo trotted in behind her.

Zell helped her with her bags and gave Angelo a pat on the head before he turned to close his apartment's door. He made sure the deadbolt was locked and he slid the door's chain back in place. Safety first.

After Zell was done securing his front door, Rinoa couldn't hold in her emotions any longer. She flung herself into his arms. She hadn't felt this safe in over a week! Zell returned her hug enthusiastically and she was crushed into his chest. He'd been incredibly lonely on this mission, and he was happy to see a friend.

After her initial relief wore off, Rinoa was a little bit confused by the fact that Zell was NOT surprised to see her on his doorstep in Deling City.

"Aren't you surprised to see me here Zell?" Rinoa asked while pulling back from his embrace.

"Well... yes... and no," he replied. "I never liked the idea of leaving you behind at Garden, and I couldn't believe you'd be separated from us for that long. I knew something would give and I'd see you sooner rather than later. Although... I thought you'd go for Squall first... I guess I lost the bet."

Zell stood smiling while rubbing the back of his neck. He knew she'd want an explanation.

"What?" Rinoa asked with a confused expression on her face.

"Selphie, Irvine, and I bet on who would end up spotting you first in Deling City while we were on this mission. Selphie bet that'd she'd be able to spot you first roaming through the city. She was so sure of herself. She's been on the lookout for you since we got here. Irvine and I both bet that you'd end up seeing Squall first. So I guess we all lost. Nobody thought you'd run into me."

"Oh... you thought that I was that predictable?" she asked. She thought her improvised trip to Deling City had been a spontaneous spur-of-the-moment decision.

Zell balked at the loaded question. He stood and crossed his leg while scratching the back of his head. Rinoa sensed his discomfort, and tried to explain herself.

"Well, I actually DID think about trying to see Squall. But he's on an undercover mission, so I can't bother him," she replied.

Zell shrugged his shoulders and hung his arms down. It sounded like she didn't want to see him that much at all.

Rinoa quickly changed the subject as she didn't want anything awkward between them.

"But I'm so happy to visit YOU Zell! I knew you'd be so lonely by yourself... well, especially because I was so lonely by myself... It's pretty terrible when you don't want to be alone," she explained.

"Yea, that's for sure!" Zell said while perking up and slapping her on the shoulder. "Why don't you come in and get comfortable."

He gestured for her to come into the center of the studio apartment.

"There's my computer set up, and the kitchenette, and the bathroom, and my bedroom," Zell said while pointing to the different corners of his little shabby apartment. Junk food bags and wrappers were everywhere.

Rinoa looked around and was surprised at how bad the apartment was. Before joining the Timber resistance she had stayed in her fair share of dirty and disgusting places, but this apartment was near the top of her list.

"Um, it's really... um..." Rinoa tried to think of something nice to say.

"Crappy," Zell said while finishing her sentence. "Don't worry, I can deal with it."

Zell looked around at his tight quarters. There wasn't much space for privacy. Suddenly a brief look of understanding crossed his face.

"Do you have a place to stay Rin?" he inquired.

"Um, I thought I'd stay at Caraway's, but then I got scared that once I was inside he'd lock me in there. I thought if I told you where I was going, that it'd be safer. I didn't want to be in a situation where I was trapped and nobody even knew I was there," Rinoa explained while hoping Zell would let her stay with him.

"Yea, he really seemed to like locking you up didn't he?" Zell said. "I'm glad you told me where you'd be staying before you went over there... but... well..."

He looked at the ground for a second while thinking and kicked a candy wrapper across the floor.

"Just forget that plan. You can stay here!" Zell said excitedly while hoping that he wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

Rinoa's face brightened at his suggestion and she clasped her hands in front of herself happily. She really didn't want to go to her father's house. It was a beautiful mansion, but it also was a place of imprisonment for her. She preferred to stay in a squalid apartment with a friend than be locked up in luxury.

"Thanks so much for the offer Zell! I don't want to intrude on you. Are you sure it's alright?"

"Yea, I'd be really happy to have you with me. We can have a fun time. I can even make you something for dinner! I've only had snacks so far tonight, I need to eat more. I have a package of hot dogs in the fridge and..."

Zell saw Rinoa wrinkle her nose slightly at the suggestion even though she continued to smile politely.

"Or I can run out and pick up some take-out for us. We can have a little celebration! That sounds like a good plan," Zell said.

"That sounds great actually, and I'd love to rest a bit after all the traveling," she said.

Zell started to bounce on the back of his feet while thinking.

"Yea, I'll just run out right now and grab us some food. I'll be back before you know it! See you soon Rinoa!"

Zell was so hyper and excited that he was nearly out the door by the time Rinoa could comprehend what he'd just said. She walked over to his door and made sure it to lock it behind him. She felt safer in his apartment, but she'd feel even safer when he got back.

While she was wondering where she should sit, or even where she'd sleep tonight, she turned towards his technical gadgetry in the corner. The glow of Zell's computer set up was calling out to her. Nobody was around to see her spy on 'the couples' so that's exactly what she'd do. She peered towards the screens.

The two screens were broken down into many different black and white surveillance footage scenes before her. There were views of street corners, hallways, and apartment interiors. She wondered if anybody was home when she saw Quistis' form stalk across the screen angrily and go into what was probably a bedroom. She leaned forward to see if Squall was there too. About a minute later she saw him enter the apartment and walk to the kitchen to check his laptop.

 _Yeah Squall! Finally! Oh, they look angry with each other,_ Rinoa thought while her heart lifted.

She felt guilty at that thought, but it was a relief to see that they weren't having the best time together. Maybe they were as miserable as she had been the past week. She kept watching the screen while waiting for Zell to return with the food.

 _Even on a tiny and grainy screen, Squall still looks so cute,_ she thought to herself with a smile.

She continued peeking at the monitors happily while Zell was gone because she wasn't sure if she'd have a good chance to do this later.

The jingling of keys was heard at the front door. Rinoa tensed even though she knew it was just Zell coming back. She stepped away from his computer setup so she didn't look like she'd been snooping. She flipped back some of her dark hair and turned towards the door.

Zell pushed the door open while carrying a bag of delicious smelling food. His usually bright smile was even more spectacular today. He was happy he was able to eat nice food with a friend. No more lonely meals for him. His excitement was palpable.

"Hey Rin! Hope I didn't make you wait too long. I grabbed us some sandwiches, chips, and drinks. I didn't know what you'd like, so I just got us both sandwiches with nearly everything on them. If you don't like anything, just pick it off. I'll eat it," he said while stepping towards her.

Rinoa was pretty hungry, so she went to get her food from Zell. After taking the wrapped sandwich, drink, and chips, she wasn't sure what to do. The apartment situation wasn't the most comfortable. She looked around to see where she should sit.

Zell noticed her hesitance.

"Rin, why don't you just sit on the mattress. I'll take the floor. Don't worry about making a mess, this place isn't ever going to come clean anyways," Zell said while gesturing to the mattress on the floor.

She walked over and sat on his mattress while crossing her legs. Zell sat on the floor directly across from her, and Angelo jumped beside her to take a nap. It was nearly like a fun picnic, except instead of being outside in a grassy field, they were in a dingy studio apartment.

Rinoa unwrapped her sandwich hungrily and began to eat. She was enjoying herself immensely until she hit something spicy. Apparently there were hot peppers in the sandwich. She took a few more chews before swallowing. Her eyes were starting to water, but she smiled at Zell as he ate across from her. He'd been so sweet to get her food, she didn't want to make his choice seem bad. But the peppers were hot, very hot. She wasn't used to very spicy things, and Zell was a lot more adventurous with his toppings than she was. He looked happy with his food.

"Thanks so much Zell! I was so hungry, and I'm just so glad to be eating with you," she said with tears in her eyes.

She swallowed while taking a sip from her can of cold soda. Zell munched on a handful of chips before responding.

"No problem. I'm just so happy you're here. This week has been awful! Being by yourself SUCKS! So does working by yourself, eating by yourself, sleeping... um, yeah... stuff SUCKS!" Zell said while taking a giant bite out of his sandwich and muttering to himself.

Rinoa kept chewing her spicy sandwich for a few minutes.

"Do you get bored just watching computer screens all day?" she asked in-between hungry bites.

"Yea, it's pretty boring. I haven't seen anybody suspicious. I don't know how we're gonna catch these people. They already kidnapped another woman from that same neighborhood they're in. We totally missed seeing anybody do anything. Squall is taking it pretty hard," Zell explained.

"Oh really, is he?" Rinoa asked while trying to not sound too interested in Squall. That act never fooled anybody though.

Zell took his cue to spill his thoughts on Squall.

"Yea, Squall is super tense... even for him," he said with his mouthful of sandwich.

"I guess I already saw evidence for that. I hope you don't mind, but I took a little look at your computer set up while you were out getting the food. Both Squall and Quistis look really... um... stressed."

Zell nodded his head vigorously at her statement.

"I know! You can totally tell how much tension is in the air just by looking at the screens. I purposely keep the volume low so I can't listen to stuff they are saying. It's mainly just low background noise to me, but I want to be able to hear anybody screaming. But I also don't want to seem like I'm some kind of creep that is having fun watching people live... but I also think that's kind of my job on this mission... but also..."

"Zell! I get it! This whole mission set up is really weird and awkward," Rinoa responded while waving her hand at him.

"Yea, very awkward. It's like some kind of soap opera drama over there," Zell said while flicking his head towards the screens.

"Really, what's been going on?" Rinoa asked with interest with her eyebrows raised.

She leaned forward in anticipation. Hanging out with Zell was going to feel like a fun slumber party. Lots of junk food and gossiping.

"Squall doesn't go to bed until way after Quistis has fallen asleep, and he even gets up way earlier than her too. It's like he thinks she's gross or something."

"Really?" Rinoa asked with a smile.

"Yea, and that's not all. You can tell Quistis is totally PISSED about it! It's totally tense over there, but you can tell they are still really focused on the mission anyway. Squall wants this to be OVER! Everybody wants this to be over except Selphie. She's really enjoying being fake-married."

"Selphie really likes everything," Rinoa nodded.

"Yea, well I hope she doesn't kill Irvine in the process. He's looking like a zombie lately. Today they were discussing that Selphie and Quistis should be out on their own more often to look like vulnerable targets. Irvine suggested that he and Squall go out and hit some bars to give the girls some alone time for that."

"Oh really?" Rinoa said with interest.

She tried to imagine Squall in a bar with Irvine. It seemed kinda funny to her. She'd love to see that. Actually, she might make a point to try to see that in person.

"When do you think they're going to do that?" she asked.

"Probably very soon. They want to get the ball rolling on this mission," Zell explained.

"What are those dots on the screen over there?"

"They have tracking devices on them. I always know where they are on the map because of that," he said while downing the rest of his soda.

"Interesting," she said.

 _Maybe I'll pay Squall a visit sooner rather than later,_ she thought to herself excitedly.

They both looked over at the grainy screen and saw Quistis enter the kitchen to talk to Squall. It looked like they were going to have an argument.

"Oh Walter, why won't you come to bed with me?! Don't you think I'm sexy anymore? Sometimes I feel that this marriage is a sham," Zell said in a high pitched voice.

Rinoa looked over at Zell in confusion. His face turned red and he put his hands up in the air defensively.

"Oh sorry, I've been here alone all week and I've been talking to myself a lot. Sometimes I pretend I'm watching a TV show, except I make up the dialog myself," Zell explained with a look of embarrassment on his face.

Rinoa let out a little laugh. That sounded like fun to her. She wanted to play along with Zell.

"Kiki, don't you understand? I need personal space! You're smothering me! There isn't enough room in this giant King sized bed for both of us," Rinoa said while mimicking Squall's voice.

Zell nodded at her. He was glad she was playing along with his game.

"Walter, why don't you find me attractive? You thought this marriage was a good idea at the beginning," Zell said.

"Yes Kiki, I thought it was a good idea, but... I was mistaken," Rinoa countered dramatically.

Zell and Rinoa continued to stare at the screen while Quistis reached out to put a hand on Squall's shoulder to look at his laptop. He visibly flinched away from her touch."

"NO TOUCHING!" Rinoa yelled in a Squall voice.

Rinoa and Zell started to laugh. It took them a couple of minutes to calm down enough to continue the conversation.

"You're right Zell, this really is awkward. I feel sorry for both of them. How is this crazy scheme going to catch some kidnappers?" Rinoa asked.

"Yea, I don't know Rin. I'm just trusting Squall and your dad on this one. Hopefully everything will work out... eventually."

They continued to monitor the screens. Not much was happening on them. No wonder Zell had been going crazy by himself.

After a long while, Rinoa started to get sleepy. Her day of traveling was catching up with her and her eyelids were getting heavier. She got up to go use Zell's bathroom to get ready for bed. It only took her a few minutes to brush her teeth, wash her face, and change into some PJs. She soon came out in a loose t-shirt and sleep shorts.

Zell briefly glanced up from the computer screens to see her.

"Um, so... where should I sleep tonight?" she asked Zell in an unsure voice.

They both looked around his small studio apartment. There was a mattress on the floor, a small table, and his desk with tech stuff on it. Not too many options.

Zell rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I guess I could sleep on the floor or in the desk chair," he said.

Those were not good choices for a decent night's rest.

"Oh Zell! I couldn't make you do that! We can both fit on the mattress together," she said while looking at the rather small Twin sized mattress.

"Are you sure you're okay with that?" he asked uneasily with an eyebrow raised.

"Yea, it'll be fine. We're all friends here... and it isn't like you're Irvine or something," she laughed.

Zell laughed along with her. He started to loosen up at the idea. It wouldn't be that weird. He really didn't want to sleep on the hard and dirty floor anyways. Having a boring job on this mission along with a stiff and sore back was not going to make him any happier. He could deal with Rinoa, no problem. A smile started to light up his face. It'd be fine.

"Zell, I mean, it's not like I'm attracted to you or anything. You're like a brother to me," Rinoa laughed.

This time Zell didn't laugh along with her.

 _Why does everybody always say stuff like that about me?!_ he yelled in his head. _I'm in really good shape and Ma says I'm cute!_

He gave Rinoa a tight smile and brushed off her comments. If he could handle Seifer's bullying, he could put up with the occasional thoughtless remark from Rinoa. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings, even if she had done just that.

* * *

Later that night Zell woke up in his stuffy apartment. His sleep had been restless and uncomfortable. He'd decided to sleep head to foot with Rinoa so it'd be less awkward, but it didn't seem like it had helped much.

Rinoa was a bed hog. Her feet were currently in his face. Although he didn't want to sleep on the floor, he nearly was rolled off the edge onto the floor anyways.

Rinoa's dog was also a bed hog. Sometime in the night Angelo had hopped into bed with them. There was barely enough room for two people, adding a large fluffy dog had only made it worse... and HOT. The air conditioning in his building was old and inefficient, and it was not comfortable in there. The tiny air conditioner box unit had been chugging along, but it was trying and failing to produce cool air. Sometime in the last hour or two it had overworked itself and died down. The resulting hot and humid air was causing Zell to sweat profusely. Angelo's fur coat would have been great for winter, but currently it was summertime.

 _I'm so hot and cramped! Squall would be able to put up with this. He likes furry coats! I wish I could switch places with him._

Zell inched his body back onto the mattress, trying to push back against Angelo and Rinoa for space. He was trying to be slow and quiet to not wake them, but he wasn't making much progress. Rinoa's feet kept pushing back against him. His frustration caused him to suddenly roll Rinoa over onto her side near the wall and push Angelo against her so he could reclaim his space. He briefly was scared of his sudden boldness, but it didn't look like she'd even slightly awoken.

 _Wow, she sleeps like a ton of bricks! I guess I don't have to be so careful. I'm getting sick of this weird mission! Squall better figure out something soon._

Zell, like the rest of them, was putting the mission success squarely on Squall's shoulders. He had utmost faith in his ability to pull through for them. He hadn't failed them before. Well, Timber still wasn't independent, but that was pretty vague wording for a mission directive. Catching kidnappers was much more concrete. They were going to change their tactics, and Squall could catch the culprits with everybody's help. Zell hoped that mission success was just around the corner.

End of Chapter 6

* * *

Author's Notes: Poor Zell! Sharing a little mattress with his commanding officer's girlfriend and her big fluffy dog has got to be WEIRD! He's a good sport though. Cheerful Zell! Oh, and I imagine this story taking place about 2 years after the start of the game, so then they'd be about 19 or 20 years old. I'm also imagining that the legal drinking age in their world is 18, in case anybody is wondering. Ah, I can't wait to get Squall and Rinoa together again!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Bar Night

Smoke drifted in a cloud through the noisy and crowded bar. Music echoed off the walls, and the bass lines could be felt.

"I don't think people should be smoking in here," Squall said irritably while waving his hand in front of his face trying unsuccessfully to dissipate the smoke.

"Not everybody follows rules like you do," Irvine replied while tipping his cowboy hat up with the edge of his beer bottle.

"I don't think you should be wearing a cowboy hat... BUTCH," Squall said with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, Butch wants to try out a 'new' look. I think it suits him," Irvine said with a smile while looking around the bar.

Deling City had a lot of bars. This particular bar was nothing compared to the classy hotel bar where Julia Heartilly played piano at all those years ago. Julia's bar had been a clean, quiet, and elegant place to get a drink while listening to relaxing piano music. That place had an easy and tranquil vibe, but this bar was just the opposite.

The Phoenix Plume was a loud and dark bar that happened to be crowded full of people. The walls were painted with a layer of black grime from years of customers smoking. At least the dark atmosphere hid some of the bar's flaws. There was foam spilling from the seats, scratched up floors, and the surfaces didn't look like they'd ever come clean. Squall found that out the hard way as he had been trying and failing to clean the bar surface in front of him with his little cocktail napkin.

 _A mild bleach solution would be useful in this place,_ he thought to himself while looking around the room.

People were drinking and dancing everywhere. The dance floor took up the center of the main room and many ladies and a few men were bouncing up and down in an attempt to dance. At least it was what most people would call dancing. Squall called it something else under his breath that Irvine couldn't hear. He wasn't having the greatest time. However it was better than waiting at home for Quistis to return from her evening out by herself. Although, if they were lucky, she wouldn't come home at all. Why couldn't those kidnapping maniacs just grab either Quistis or Selphie?

Irvine swiveled on his bar stool to look out at the dance floor behind him. He leaned back and used the bar to prop himself up. Squall continued to sit towards the bar while staring down into his beer bottle while Irvine was moving around. Irvine furrowed his brows at the commander. He thought Squall would have a few beers and relax, but it obviously wasn't working for him. Irvine shrugged at him before turning his attention back to the large group of people. The haze of smoke made it hard to see from one end to the other, but that didn't stop Irvine from scanning the crowd. He'd noticed there were many pretty ladies out there tonight looking for some fun.

"Hey man, why don't you use tonight as a chance to relax?" Irvine said languidly while staring at a red-head in a short skirt dancing with some of her friends.

Squall sighed and his eyebrows knit together in frustration and worry, unaware of what Irvine was looking at.

"The girls will be fine. Don't you worry about them one bit now," Irvine replied to Squall's non-verbal cues.

Squall gripped his beer bottle tightly and sighed again.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Even that kidnapped woman turned out fine, didn't she?"

"She's hospitalized in intensive care!" Squall said.

"Yea, but she's alive! Look on the bright side!" Irvine said while taking a sip of his beer.

"The kidnappers didn't even give the police or her husband much time to respond. That doesn't make sense," Squall said. "Criminals usually follow patterns."

"Yea, well I guess she tried fighting back too hard and they got sick of that. They'll probably be extra careful to not pick a fighter next time. I'm sure they don't want trouble. That throws a monkey-wrench into their easy money plans. That's all what they want, easy money. If it doesn't look like they'll get a ransom real easy, they beat-up and then dump the women."

Squall took a sip of his drink and sighed again. He ran his fingers through his hair to dispel the tingling feeling running over his body. He had the odd feeling that a presence was in the room with him, and he wasn't referring to the raucous crowd either. It didn't make sense. He wrote off the odd feelings as being unfounded and kept drinking.

* * *

Rinoa entered the bar with an excited smile on her face. She was here and she was going to see Squall. It would be a mission accomplished! Well, at least it would be a mission accomplished for HER. She wasn't going to interfere with HIS mission, that was a separate thing, but she would get to see him again. That would be fun and it would ease her loneliness. Her anxiety had lessened greatly just knowing he was nearby.

It hadn't been hard to get to this bar. Zell hadn't made a secret of their plans tonight, and she could peer over his shoulder and look at his surveillance equipment. They had trackers on themselves. It was all so easy. And she had grown up in Deling City, she knew her way around. So that's why she was at this particular bar with a smile on her face.

Although she did feel a little bit guilty at tricking Zell. She had told him that she was going out to visit her father at the Caraway Mansion. She even told him to make sure she came back, and if she didn't, it would be because her father had locked her up. Lying wasn't something she liked doing, especially to Zell, who was trusting and kind, but she didn't want him stopping her from seeing Squall.

She was just going to see Squall, and then she'd leave. She didn't want to distract him. It'd be enough for her just to see him in person. He didn't have to know she was ever there. It was dark and crowded, she'd blend in easily enough.

 _If you didn't want him to see you, why'd you dress up?_ she asked herself.

 _I wanted to make sure I looked cute, just in case,_ she answered. _Wow, now I'm talking to myself like Zell. I should stop doing that before it becomes a habit. Nobody likes crazy sorceresses._

Rinoa looked around, and she found that she was definitely overdressed. At least she was overdressed in the fact that her body was a lot more covered than most of the women here. It seemed everybody else was wearing things that were strappy, backless, or with plunging necklines. Short dresses and skirts also were the norm, and Rinoa's knee length dress looked a little out of place. Rinoa thought that since they were pretending to be wealthy men, that they'd be going to a classier bar than this. Irvine must have picked the place. Rinoa felt overdressed in her elegant dusty pink sleeveless dress with her hair clipped up neatly. It was nice, but not too showy, and she loved having her hair off her neck in the hot summertime. She wanted to look nice and cool, and not hot and sweaty.

She thought she saw a familiar head of hair over at the bar, but she couldn't be sure in the dim lighting. She edged her way forward. A tall figure with a cowboy hat sat beside a shorter brown haired man drinking a beer.

 _If that isn't Squall and Irvine... well, that'd be really, really weird if it was anybody but them,_ she thought to herself while mixing in with the crowd.

Irvine suddenly swiveled around on his bar stool and started looking out towards the dance floor. Rinoa dove into a group of girls who were dancing, hoping she'd blend in. She didn't want Irvine seeing her. She hid behind a red-head in a revealing skirt and pretended to dance along with her tipsy friends. Every once in a while she'd take a peek to see the back of Squall's head.

 _He's so cute!_ she thought to herself happily.

She was having a good time even though she hadn't even spoken to Squall or Irvine. She originally had just wanted to see them and go, but now she wanted to stay a while.

 _Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well get a drink. I'm kinda thirsty anyways. It was hot out on the way over here._

She flagged down a barmaid to take a drink order so she wouldn't actually have to walk up to the bar. She didn't want to blow her cover.

Irvine was visibly having an animated conversation with Squall, and he turned back towards the bar to continue talking with him.

 _As long as I'm here, maybe I'll get a little bit closer._

Rinoa watched as two women approached the bar where Irvine and Squall were sitting. One woman was a tall brunette in a flashy purple dress, and she was accompanied by a shorter blonde woman in a black dress. It looked like they were going to try and spark a conversation with them.

Rinoa frowned at the women, but she continued to creep closer so she could listen in on what they were saying.

The taller woman had her arm hooked with her friend as they approached the bar. Her shorter friend clearly didn't want to be doing this with her, but she was being forced in the name of friendship. Good friends stick together, and that woman was stuck in this situation. The taller woman strode up to Irvine while shoving her friend in the general direction of Squall.

* * *

Irvine's ears perked up as he heard somebody addressing him from behind.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" a tall brunette inquired of Irvine while pointing at the empty seat beside him.

"Of course, I don't mind. I'd never mind a pretty lady comin' up to sit next to me. I hope to die, if that ain't the truth," Irvine drawled at her with a wink.

The woman took Irvine's strange phrasing as encouragement and hopped up on the bar stool next to him. Their relaxed banter quickly turned into flirting. Squall purposely tuned out whatever they were saying and concentrated on the condensation that was forming on his half empty beer bottle.

The taller woman's shy friend approached Squall from behind. She nervously smoothed out her short blonde bobbed hairstyle before trying to start a conversation.

"Is anybody sitting there?" she asked while pointing tentatively to the empty bar stool besides him.

Squall looked at the empty bar stool and then back to the woman.

"No," he answered. That was the truth.

 _It clearly isn't occupied lady,_ he thought.

The woman took that as encouragement and hopped up beside him at the bar. She was going to try and engage Squall in a conversation while her more lively friend flirted with Irvine. Her friend was going to have a much easier time, but she didn't know that yet.

"It's hot out, isn't it?" she asked Squall.

"Yes."

 _It's summer, what do you expect?_

"You have a slight accent. You aren't originally from Deling City are you?"

"No."

Squall continued to sip at his beer while not glancing at the blonde woman. He was hoping she'd get bored by his short answers and leave due to his unfriendliness.

"Um, do you like the Galbadian Bears?" she asked.

"No."

 _Is she still trying to talk? What does she want from me?!_ Squall thought.

The blonde woman sighed at Squall's continuous refusal to start a conversation with her. She thought for sure that mentioning the local hockey team would get him to open up. She was frustrated. It felt like she was playing Twenty Questions instead of trying to have a conversation.

"You don't seem very talkative and good at communicating," the woman said with a strained laugh. She was just trying to ease the tension that was building inside of her. She was mostly just there to support her friend.

Squall continued to stare straight ahead at the bottles lined up behind the bartender, not even sparing the woman a side glance. He never appreciated people calling him out on his unique way of communicating. It made him get testy.

"I'm not talkative, but I think I'm communicating quite well," he said. "My body language is clear," he said tersely.

The woman's mouth dropped open at Squall's rude bluntness. She'd been forced to talk to this man because of her friend, and now she was being shot-down by him.

Squall continued, "maybe you are the who has a problem with communication. Especially as you sought out the one person in this crowded bar who isn't interested in talking to you or anybody else."

The woman bit her lip and climbed down from the bar stool. Her blonde bangs fell across her face, and she kept them there to hide her facial expression. She walked out to the dancing crowd to get as far away from Squall as possible. Her friend was on her own now, she'd tried.

* * *

The offended woman pushed past Rinoa in her rush to hide her embarrassment and hurt in the dim lighting of the dance floor.

 _She gives up too easily,_ Rinoa thought sadly. She had a pang of sympathetic embarrassment go through her. She'd have to talk to Squall about his manners later.

 _Poor lady. Bad luck. Although I have a pretty good feeling I'll have better luck tonight,_ she thought.

After giving Squall a minute to collect himself after the unparalleled unpleasantness of being forced to talk with a complete stranger, Rinoa dared to approach him.

"Is anybody sitting here?" Rinoa said softly behind Squall.

 _Is anybody sitting here?_ she thought simultaneously.

Squall thought he was imagining things. It was loud and disorienting in the bar, but what he just experienced was very strange. He started to turn slowly to see who was behind him. He was completely unprepared to see Rinoa staring back at him with a drink in hand. She should have been at Garden where she would have been safe. That was the ONE comforting part of this mission, that she'd be kept safe there.

Confusion painted his face and he was assaulted by too many conflicting emotions. It was a relief to see her, but it also was unexpected and distressing. Squall didn't know how to react, so he did nothing while his emotions swirled in the pit of his stomach.

Even without the bond, Rinoa knew his distress through the look in his eyes. His face may have been rigid, but the eyes are the window to the soul. Even Squall couldn't mask that part of himself. She wanted to run into his arms, but she didn't think that would go over very well.

"Squall?" she said quietly. "Are you okay?"

Squall blinked blankly before narrowing his eyes in concentration.

"I think you have me confused with somebody else," he said. "My name is Walter."

He was uncomfortable, and when he was uncomfortable he relied on his training. He could always count on his work to see him through. Squall was not going to break character on this mission if he could help it. He'd stick to the plan even if Rinoa showed up unannounced. It was his job. This wasn't a game she could just join in on.

"Oh... um, well... Is anybody sitting here Walter?" she asked while going along with his cues. He looked like he was trying to put together his thoughts. He was often silent before speaking. People had to be patient with his way of conversing. She leaned forward on the tips of her toes with her arms stretched behind her back.

He shook his head and his bangs fell across his eyes.

Rinoa climbed onto the bar stool next to him and set down her drink on the bar top. She turned slightly towards him after taking a sip. Squall slowly swiveled around to look at her. Her fingernails clinked on the side of the glass with apprehension. Now that she was there, she wondered if this was all a mistake. She'd missed him, but she didn't want to jeopardize the mission or make him angry. She wondered what he'd say to her, and she was nearly holding her breath while waiting for him to speak.

"You drink?" he asked sounding surprised.

She let out her breath. That wasn't what she'd been expecting, but at least he didn't seem angry. Although she wished he had looked happy to see her. She'd missed him a lot. Had he missed her? She didn't know, and he apparently wasn't going to talk about it.

"It's just cranberry juice," she answered with her dark eyebrow raised at him. "And since we just met, how would you know whether or not I like to drink... Walter?"

"Oh... I..." Squall floundered.

Although he was trying to hide it, she could tell that he was unnerved.

Rinoa straightened her back confidently while crossing her legs. She was glad that he wasn't outright angry, so she decided she could stay awhile and enjoy his company, even if he was going to pretend and be 'Walter.' She'd missed teasing Squall, and this was going to be fun.

She tried to take in his appearance. It was strange to see how different he looked. He was wearing khaki pants, brown loafers, a fancy watch, and a light blue button up shirt that was rolled up to his elbows and tucked into his pants. He only had one belt on, and it looked expensive. Actually all of him looked expensive, like he had some kind of job in finance. Maybe this is what he'd have ended up looking like in another life, one where he hadn't been an orphan dumped off at a military school. Squall the straight-laced business man. Weird.

Walter certainly dressed differently than Squall. She bet Squall would think a guy who dressed like Walter would be an arrogant jerk. He looked like he'd stepped out of a high end catalog, the only thing that was missing was a self-satisfied smile. She looked down and saw a bit of skin from beneath the hem of his pant leg. He wasn't wearing socks with his fancy rich guy loafers. She couldn't imagine Squall dressing in this style if it wasn't for a Garden approved mission.

 _Wow, I caught a glimpse of Squall's bare ankle. Scandalous!_ she thought before starting up the conversation again.

"I like your shirt. It looks so light and crisp. Did you iron it yourself? If you did, I can tell you did a great job. I bet you are the type of guy with a high attention to detail."

Squall didn't know how to respond, so he kept drinking his beer. He was getting near to the end of his bottle. Rinoa put her hands up in the air defensively after he didn't say anything for a minute.

"Look! I'm sorry I mistook you for my friend. I can now see how different you both are. My friend has a different fashion sense than yours. He likes dark colors. I've never seen him wear anything like what you have on now. He's into heavy boots, black leather jackets, men's jewelry, zippers, metal buckles, and a LOT of heavy leather belts."

"Your friend sounds like a pervert," Squall responded while taking another sip of his beer. "And he sounds exactly like the sort of guy your father wouldn't approve of. I bet your father tried to lock you away from him."

Rinoa was pleased that Squall was starting to loosen up. At least his tongue was loosening up. The alcohol probably was helping him.

"Oh yea, my father isn't too fond of him, and he would love to keep me away from him... and everybody else. But that's a different story that I don't feel like talking about right now. But I wouldn't call him a pervert! Ha ha! He's kind of the opposite actually. He's more of a prude," Rinoa said while leaning towards Squall with a squint.

"Prude?" he asked with his lip upturned in distaste at the characterization.

"Yea, he's pretty uptight and reserved. You wouldn't think of that when looking at him, but that's the way he is. He likes to look really cold and tough. It's his way of making sure people keep their distance."

"Uptight, prudish, and cold. Your opinion of him sounds pretty unflattering. I wonder why you waste any time on this 'friend' of yours," Squall said while kicking his head back to finish the last of his beer. Then he signed to the bartender to give him another.

"I wouldn't ever call the time I spend with him a waste! Spending time with him is my favorite thing to do, I wish I could do it more. He's always busy though. He's kinda a business man like you, except his business is a lot, LOT different..." Rinoa trailed off before starting up again. "And I didn't mean to sound unflattering. Actually I have the utmost respect for him. Nobody is perfect. I figure everybody is entitled to have their quirks. Plus he had a pretty hard upbringing. Although he can kind of be rude sometimes, I don't have much patience for that! I guess that is why I thought you two were so similar at first. I couldn't help but overhear your recent conversation with that blonde lady."

Rinoa had been teasing him, but Squall swung his head around and looked into her eyes directly when she'd mentioned the blonde lady. He looked hurt that she'd been listening in on his 'conversation' with that other woman. He wracked his brain trying to remember exactly what had been said. Rinoa felt his apprehension.

 _You were very mean to that woman Squall! Rude!_ Rinoa yelled in her head through their bond.

 _What? You wanted me to flirt with her?_ he retorted angrily.

 _No, but you could have been kinder. Where are your manners?_

 _Manners weren't required for that situation. Being rude was the most efficient way to get rid of a stranger. It usually works._

 _Usually?_ she asked.

 _Yes, some strangers are more persistent than others_ , he thought with his eyebrow raised sharply.

 _Squall! You're talking about me aren't you?_

Rinoa was trying to decide if he was being a jerk or if he was trying to playfully tease her. Did Squall do playful teasing? It was rare, but it had occurred before. She decided to believe what she wanted to believe. That she was at a bar flirting with Squall. She'd go along with it. She'd flirt back.

 _Well, I think that persistence pays off. That woman could have learned a lesson tonight. She could have eventually won you over, just like I did. And then maybe in the future you'd be having a similar awkward conversation with your TWO overly relentless girlfriends. We'd have you outnumbered and then you'd have no choice but to learn some proper manners._

Squall couldn't imagine having two girlfriends prodding him to do things he didn't want to do.

 _Rin, I get it. I'll try to be more humane in my future interpersonal interactions. Happy?_

 _Humane Squall? Well anyways, don't be TOO friendly in your future interactions with women. But I'd appreciate you being able to be a gentleman. I'd like my boyfriend to be a gentleman, is that too much to ask? It'd be nice if you'd be friendly. Well, not Irvine-friendly, but you know what I mean._

 _Irvine!_ Squall thought.

Squall's head snapped up and to his left to see if Irvine had seen Rinoa. He'd completely forgotten about him. He'd only had eyes for Rinoa, it was like he had tunnel vision for the last 15 minutes. The place could have been on fire and he wouldn't have noticed. Squall's eyes quickly scanned the room. Everything seemed the same as it had before Rinoa had announced her presence. The only differences were that the dank and disorienting bar seemed a little bit less oppressive with Rinoa beside him and Irvine and the woman were gone.

Squall searched the crowd for Irvine. He thought he saw a cowboy hat bobbing up and down amidst the dancing people. A sense of relief filled him. He didn't want to deal with Irvine knowing that Rinoa was there. Maybe he could avoid that conversation altogether.

"Maybe you should finish your drink and go home," he told Rinoa.

"No offense Walter, but who are YOU to tell ME, a complete stranger, to go home," she responded with her nose in the air.

He glared at her.

 _I thought this was the game you were wanting to play with me,_ she thought at him.

 _Rinoa this isn't a game! I'm here for a reason, and I'm using this alias for a reason!_

Squall got off his bar stool and took hold of her bare arm. Her tried to ignore how soft and creamy it felt under his gloveless fingertips.

"Why don't I escort you home," he told her.

"You're being awfully forward aren't you? You just assumed I was going to take you back to my place," she said. "You didn't even offer to buy me a drink. Even a total creep would have done that much."

Squall reached into his pocket while sighing and threw several bills on the bar top to cover his drinks and tip. It was enough for both of them, he didn't know if she'd paid for her drink yet. He just really wanted to be out of there.

When he was done Squall looked down at her without amusement. Rinoa scrunched up her nose at him, but she eventually let herself be coaxed off the high bar stool. Then Squall led her through the crowd, and prevented too many people from bumping into her. If Irvine was still in there dancing, he figured he'd just let him have his evening out away from Selphie. He'd see him later. Irvine was on his own now. Not that Irvine probably cared. Squall was just glad to be leaving.

The hot and humid air hit them in the face while they exited the cool air-conditioned bar. At first the contrast seemed unbearable, but then within a minute they got used to it. It really wasn't that bad outside. It was cooler than it had been in the middle of the day. Once the sun set, it had gotten much more comfortable out.

Deling City was beautiful at night. Stars sparkled in the dark sky. Buses and cars constantly bustled between the many bright streetlights. It was a fun and exciting place, if you were the sort of person who liked being around noise and a lot of people all the time. Squall wasn't exactly one of those people. Rinoa wasn't either. She'd always preferred the smallness of Timber, and the nearby forest where she could escape to for refreshing natural solitude.

But Deling City was nice, even if she didn't want to live there. It would be a fun place to go on a date. She wished this were a date. It obviously wasn't. Actually she felt like she was being dropped off by a babysitter.

The only sounds they were making were those of their shoes clipping in rhythm with each other. Squall automatically was going to the nearest bus stop. Rinoa didn't think to stop him. They both got on and swiped their bus cards before taking a seat. It wasn't long before they were moving along the street.

After they had been riding for several minutes, Rinoa was not surprised to see Squall readying to get up at the Caraway Mansion stop. She didn't want him to know where she actually was staying, so she got ready to get up too.

 _I guess this is the logical place for me to be staying in Deling City. Squall is always logical. Well, almost always,_ she thought to herself.

They hopped down off the bus and onto the sidewalk before it took off again. Deling City buses didn't stop for very long, and you had to be very careful to get on and off them at the right time.

They walked towards the mansion's front door in silence. Rinoa started to trail behind Squall. She didn't know what to do. It would be great if her relationship with her father wasn't so strained. It would be fun to have him come inside. She could show him her childhood bedroom and share some memories with him, but that wasn't going to happen now. Maybe not ever. She was going to have to improvise tonight.

"Thank you for escorting me home," she said while placing her hand over her heart and bowing slightly to him once they arrived at the front door.

Squall just stared at her. She nodded at him again. He instinctively mirrored her actions.

"Okay, well I'll see you around," she said while waving goodbye to him.

Squall took a step backwards like he was going to leave. He gave her a hesitant wave, and then continued back towards the bus stop. Rinoa let out a heavy breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

In case Squall turned around again, she pretended to root around in her purse for her keys and made motions to open the door. She had been feeling pretty clever when she felt a hand grab her arm from behind. A scream started to escape her lips when another hand clamped down on her mouth.

"What are you pretending? It's obvious you aren't staying here," she heard Squall rasp into her left ear.

A wave of anger came over her and she easily shook him off her. She turned around and got ready to fight.

"Hey! Don't do that to me! That wasn't funny!" she said. "For a second I thought I was getting abducted!"

"If you were so worried about getting kidnapped, you should have stayed at Garden. That was the plan we agreed on."

"I was forced to agree to it! I didn't want to, and I DID go along with it for a whole week. It was terrible!"

"A week isn't that long"

"It is when I was completely alone!" she countered.

"There are tons of people at Garden."

"But they aren't my friends. They aren't you."

There was silence after she said that, and Squall turned away. She didn't want to sound needy, but that's what it was sounding like. She should be able to function without other people's help. Squall looked like he was doing fine without her. She selfishly wished he'd looked a little bit worse for the wear than he did.

Squall started to walk to the bus stop. Rinoa looked up at him curiously. He turned and silently motioned with his head for her to follow him.

"You don't want to actually meet up with your father tonight, do you?" he asked with an eye roll.

She shook her head vigorously. "No, I don't."

"Well, hurry up so I can take you back to where you're staying then," he said. "You'll have to show the way this time."

* * *

Squall knocked heavily on the wooden door in the dingy apartment building while Rinoa stood behind him guiltily. There were the sounds of movement from inside before somebody answered.

"Um, who is it?" Zell asked timidly through the door.

"I'm pretty sure you know EXACTLY who it is," Squall answered while facing the door's peephole.

End of Chapter 7

* * *

I hope you guys liked this. I wanted the parts with Squall and Rinoa to be cute.

Oh, and if you haven't already noticed. There is a community called The Successor Challenge, and there are a lot of fun FFVIII stories that are being posted there throughout August. Check it out. I put up two short and silly stories already.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Loud thumping bass was reverberating through the dirty building. It was coming from more than one apartment and it was creating a cacophony of sounds that didn't go together. Shouting and laughing could be heard through the walls. Either it was like this every day in this particular apartment building or multiple people were having a party or a fight. Maybe both. Either way, Squall figured the conversation he was about to have would not be overheard by any of the neighbors.

Squall knocked heavily on the wooden door to ensure that he was heard. Rinoa stood a few paces behind him while they waited for somebody to answer the door. Normally not much bothered Squall, as he had roughed it many times on missions before, but there was something in the tight and smelly hallway that was making him slightly nauseous. It was humid and stuffy and he was becoming uncomfortable. He almost banged on the door a second time before he heard sounds of movement from inside. It was a short time later before somebody answered in a small voice that could barely be heard.

"Um, who is it?" Zell asked timidly through the door.

"I'm pretty sure you know EXACTLY who it is," Squall answered while facing the door's peephole.

The door started to slowly creak open in response. Squall put his hand out and pushed the door inwards to hurry it along. He motioned for Rinoa to enter, and then he followed her in and firmly shut the door behind them.

After the reverberations of the door quieted down, Squall just stood there facing Zell while being completely silent. Silence was a familiar friend, and he could use it to his advantage. Time to make Zell sweat out an explanation for whatever was going on.

Zell stood there with an uncomfortable grin on his face. This wasn't how he figured this evening would play out. Squall and Rinoa were just standing and looking at him. Squall's face was set like a stone while Rinoa chewed her bottom lip. Just the three of them staring at each other in silence. It was a triangle of awkwardness. Zell continued to smile, but his smile was so unnatural and large that his eyes were squinted and nearly closed. Which was just as well because he didn't want to witness what was about to happen.

Zell felt guilty for his part in all of this. He had been playing along with Rinoa's schemes, he wasn't oblivious. Rinoa merely thought that he was trusting and kind, and he WAS, but he wasn't stupid. He knew exactly where Rinoa was going tonight. Actually he had been encouraging it. She may have thought that she was being sneaky and clever, but Zell had made it easy for her. He knew from her days with the Forest Owls that her own planning abilities were not the best. He just thought he'd help along the inevitable in a controlled and monitored scenario.

 _I thought Squall would loosen up if he got to hang out with Rinoa tonight. He's more tense than ever. Wrong again Dincht!_ Zell thought discouragingly to himself. His inner critic was harsh and had a voice very similar to Seifer's. _Time to get chewed out by the commander._

Rinoa looked over at Zell's discomfort and felt incredibly guilty. This was all her fault. If she hadn't come here and forced herself to stay with Zell, he wouldn't have any blame. He didn't even know that she was going to sneak out tonight. She had to speak to Squall and clear things up.

"Don't be angry at him! It's completely my fault. All of this was my doing. Both coming to Deling City and visiting you. He didn't know anything about it at all. Zell only wanted me to stay in safe spot where he could keep an eye on me once I showed up on his doorstep!" Rinoa blurted out.

Squall took in her explanation before speaking.

"So I'm meant to believe that Zell, an A rank SeeD, with intense training, surveillance equipment, and personal knowledge of your character traits, was unable to figure out your plan and unable to track you throughout the city?" Squall asked.

"Um..." Rinoa sputtered while looking down at her shoes.

Zell stopped smiling awkwardly and stood up straighter. He was going to defend his friend.

"It's okay Rin, don't feel bad. I knew where you were going," Zell said while trying to shoulder some of the blame. He tried to sound happy and upbeat to cheer her up.

"You did?" she asked while nervously smoothing out her pink dress.

"Yea, it wasn't that hard to figure out. I mean LOOK at you! I doubt you'd dress up to see your dad, or that you'd want to see him at all!" Zell exclaimed. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?!"

Rinoa looked up at him with big eyes while saying nothing. Although the hallway had been loud, the inside of the apartment was much quieter. They all stood listening to the high pitched humming sounds that were coming from Zell's computer set up. His mouth dropped open after nobody spoke up.

"OH COME ON!" Zell yelled angrily. He made fists and shook them in the air before strutting over to his mattress and plopping down in a defeated manner. "I was just trying to make you two happy," he muttered under his breath.

"Everybody just calm down," Squall instructed with his hand held out.

Rinoa's head swung up to look at Squall. Her eyes squinted up at him.

"Calm down? You're the one that's making everybody nervous Mr. Commander!" Rinoa replied hotly while crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "I didn't really do anything wrong when you think about it. I'm an adult and I grew up in Deling City. I'm free to come and go as I please."

"Except we are on a mission and we agreed that..." Squall started to speak.

"That I'd do exactly what you and Caraway told me to do AS USUAL!" she said angrily.

Squall's face looked hurt. He'd just want to make sure she was safe because he cared about her. Maybe he came off as being hard, but somebody had to ensure that the mission went smoothly, and he was the leader. He had to make sure everybody did what was expected of them. Being the boss was not the easiest thing to do.

"Pfft, you and Caraway. What a team. You know, now that I think about it. You kinda remind me of Caraway A LOT," Rinoa said.

Zell made a loud 'tch' sound in the background with an additional eyeroll at Rinoa's statement.

"Wait a second! You and Caraway ARE a lot alike. I can't believe I didn't notice this before! It's like I'm dating my FATHER!" Rinoa said with terror.

 _Wow, Rinoa JUST noticed the similarities! And she thinks I'm stupid!_ Zell thought to himself.

"You're both cold, tactical, military guys who tell me what to do... and... and... Wow! And the first time I saw you... you were dressed in a full military uniform. I thought you were so good looking... and... Eeeew, I'm attracted to military men who remind me of my father?" she said while screwing up her face in a mask of horror.

Rinoa walked across the apartment unsteadily while holding onto the sides of her head. Her eyes were wide but not focusing on anything due to her recent revelation. She paced back and forth several times before running back to Squall and grabbing a hold of the front of his crisply ironed light blue shirt.

"Maybe I'm just imagining it. Just tell me that this is my imagination, and I'll forget I ever thought this in the first place," she said desperately to Squall.

Squall looked down at her and was unable to form a sentence. He didn't want to lie to her. Even with his brief experiences with General Caraway, he could tell that he was much more similar to Rinoa's father than his own. Telling a lie wouldn't change the reality of the situation, even if that was what she wanted to hear. Remaining silent seemed to be the best option.

"Oh, you're all stuck in her head again, aren't you? That must mean you agree with me, but you don't want to say it," she said with teary eyes.

She tightly gripped his shirt before burying her face into it with a groan. When she pulled back, there were two black imprints from her wet mascara and a greasy smear of pink lipstick on his formerly immaculate dress shirt. Rinoa walked over to the tiny mattress and plopped down next to Zell. She kept gripping her head in her hands and refused to look into Squall's face.

Squall was not expecting any of this. He thought he was going to drop off Rinoa with Zell. Then he would voice his displeasure at her crashing their mission, and then give Zell additional instructions about dealing with her. He was not expecting Rinoa to start crying and comparing him to her father. This was getting out of control and he didn't like that.

He always tried to make sure his life was as in control as he could possibly make it, and yet unexpected situations always got dropped right into his lap. He had been happy to see Rinoa, in a way. He wished it could have been under different circumstances, then he would have been able to enjoy her company. Couldn't she see why it was best if she had just stayed at Garden? He didn't want to fight. He purposely went out of his way in the bar to remain calm and reserved. He didn't want to make a scene, and he was also pretty stunned at the time. Not that Rinoa showing up unannounced had NEVER crossed his mind. It was a Rinoa thing to do, but he'd hoped she wouldn't have done it. He'd thought she'd understood the logical side of why she should have stayed at Garden. He forgot the simple fact that Rinoa usually listened to her heart and emotions for better or for worse.

Now he looked across the tiny apartment to see her looking emotionally distraught. She'd have been better off staying at Garden with Angelo and a good book. Zell looked hurt as well. He felt like he should say something before leaving for the night, but he wasn't sure what.

"Zell, for the remainder of this mission, I'm trusting you to keep an eye on Rinoa," he said.

Rinoa raised her face towards him and wrinkled her nose. He didn't intend for Zell to sound like Rinoa's babysitter. Squall crossed his arms and looked at the floor. He'd have to try again.

"Zell, as long as Rinoa is with you for this mission... Um... I'm sure she can assist you with surveillance. Having two sets of eyes is better than one."

 _That sounded better. Let's see how they take that one,_ Squall thought to himself.

Zell lifted his head and nodded. He thought he was going to get chastised more by Squall, but maybe not. Squall clearly wasn't happy, but now he was occupied with doing Rinoa-damage-control. That was going to keep him busy. Zell breathed an internal sigh of relief for the moment.

Rinoa was slightly appeased by Squall, but only slightly. She was still pretty mad at her recent revelation. Thinking about Squall and her father at the same time was bothering her. She had only been wanting to see Squall tonight and now she was stuck considering if she needed therapy. She wished they hadn't bickered with one another so she could give him a goodnight hug before he left. Although in that scenario, Zell would not have been a bystander. The evening had turned out a lot differently than what she had hoped for. Maybe she'd just sleep on it and hope that she felt better about everything in the morning.

"So we are agreed that if you are helping Zell with surveillance, you won't interfere further with the ongoing undercover part of this mission? So this means you won't be seeing me, Quistis, Irvine, or Selphie. Understand?" Squall asked Rinoa.

She nodded at him weakly before speaking.

"I'm just really tired right now," Rinoa stated.

"Me too," Zell said while letting out a big breath. He leaned back on his arms and stretched his legs before him.

"Okay," Squall responded. He did a quick visual survey of the apartment. Rinoa had been staying with Zell, but all he saw was a single tiny mattress on the floor. There wasn't even a couch. "Where are you guys sleeping?" Squall asked with a rare show of curiosity.

Rinoa patted the mattress beside her. "We've both been sleeping on this thing right here," she said.

Squall furrowed his brows at that statement. He could tell that Rinoa wanted to annoy him with that bit of information, but he decided he wouldn't take the bait. If she thought he had similarities with General Caraway, he'd prove that he was different. He'd show her that he wasn't a father figure that had to look out for her. She was an adult woman who could take care of herself. Anyways, it was just Dincht. Squall figured he didn't have to worry. At least not much.

"Okay," Squall said with cool composure.

Rinoa's eyes grew wide at his calm remark. She would have thought that he would have gotten at least a little bit concerned or jealous. She was sleeping in bed with another man. Well, it was just actual sleeping, nothing romantic. And it wasn't a bed, but a mattress on a floor. But it did sound scandalous. Why wasn't he reacting? Maybe he didn't care because it was just Zell. She reached out and put her arm around Zell's muscular shoulders and leaned into him with a fake yawn.

"I guess I should get UNDRESSED and turn in for the night," she said while looking directly at Squall. Her eyes were lit with challenge. One minute she was regretful of his irritation, and then she suddenly wants to irritate him further. It didn't make sense, but she was tired and upset. She was getting cranky. This evening hadn't turned out to be a fun and magical mini-reunion with Squall.

As Rinoa tightened her grip on him, Zell was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Squall and Rinoa in his small studio apartment. The tension between them was palpable. He was just trying to do his job on this mission. He didn't want to get dragged into their argument. Actually, being alone didn't seem so bad. He wondered why it had ever bothered him before. He'd love it if Squall and Rinoa vacated the premises for the rest of the night. He cringed while waiting for Squall yell at him. He wished Rinoa would stop trying to make him furious.

"Okay. I'll be going," Squall stated like nothing strange were going on at all.

 _What the heck?_ Zell thought to himself. He was not expecting that reaction. _Why was everybody acting so weird?_

Without further prompting , Squall turned around and left the apartment with the door closing softly behind him. It was as if he was extra careful to not make a slamming noise to prove how NOT irritated he was.

Zell saw more tears forming in Rinoa's eyes as she watched Squall leave. That was the last time she'd see him on this mission, at least if she didn't count seeing him on the surveillance feeds. Her arm tightened around Zell, but this time it wasn't acting. She was looking for comfort.

 _I wanted the drama to stay on the computer screens. I didn't think it would show up on my doorstep. I have a feeling that every night with Rinoa is going to a be loooong night,_ Zell thought to himself miserably.

* * *

The sounds of Squall's loafers softly slapped on the sidewalk while he marched back towards the apartment he was sharing with Quistis. If he'd been wearing his normal black boots, he'd at least be comforted by being able to make some noise to vent his frustration. As it was, he had to try to satisfy himself with the weak sounds of his expensive and soft loafers.

His eyes focused on the stone lions that flanked the porch's doorway as he approached. Just as he was pushing his way into the entryway he collided with somebody who was on the way out.

"Whoopsie!" said a woman's voice.

 _Ugh, it's one of those nosy neighbors. I don't want to deal with her right now,_ Squall thought.

"Excuse me," he said quietly under his breath.

He hoped she'd step aside and let him pass without trying to start up a conversation. Of course that didn't happen. She let her body block the door while looking at him. For somebody with such a slight frame, she sure knew how to take up a lot of space. They were so close that her perfume was starting to tickle his nose.

"Oh, I guess we didn't see each other," she responded slowly. "Having a fun night out? Where's your wife? Is she coming right behind you?" she said while looking over his shoulder.

"Um, no. She's having a night out by herself tonight," Squall responded with a slight frown. "But I'm sure she'll be back soon."

 _Not if we're lucky._

"Oh, she's having a fun girls' night out, huh? Maybe next time she could invite me," she said.

 _Not happening._

"I'll mention it to her," Squall said while eyeing the foyer of the apartment building and wishing he were inside of it. He noticed the woman staring at the front of his shirt for an awfully long time.

"Well, I'll just let you go on your way then," she said slowly with her eyes half lidded with suspicion.

Squall nodded his head at her as she finally let him inside the building. It wasn't long before he ascended the five flights of stairs and was at his apartment door. Once he let himself in, he leaned back against the door and let out a sigh. His eyes settled on the front of his shirt where the neighbor had been staring, and he finally noticed Rinoa's mascara and lipstick stains.

He rushed over to the bathroom so he could look at himself in the mirror. Once he flicked on the bathroom light, he noticed that his reflection did not look very presentable. His hair was a mess because he'd been running his hands through it constantly in frustration on the bus ride home. The top two buttons of his shirt had come undone, which had probably occurred when Rinoa was gripping onto him at Zell's apartment. And in addition to all that, he had mascara and lipstick stains all over his shirt when he just told his neighbor that his wife wasn't around tonight. Overall he looked like a sweaty and disheveled mess who was cheating on his wife.

 _Just great,_ he thought to himself pessimistically. _Just what I need, more gossip material for those snooping women._

He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. Nothing was ever straightforward or boring when Rinoa was around.

* * *

End of Chapter 8

My inspiration for the nosy neighbors is based on my neighbor. She's nearly always at the front of the apartment building, and it's sometimes hard to get by her without getting stuck in a conversation. Sometimes I even hear her lurking in the halls and I worry that she's listening at my door. I know that sounds crazy, but you haven't met my neighbor. LOL!


	9. Chapter 9

Newlywed Game - Chapter 9

The next morning was similar to many others on this mission. It was hot and sunny, and the SeeDs still weren't making any progress with finding the kidnappers. Squall and Quistis were getting very frustrated. Although Squall was frustrated for an additional reason. He now was fretting about Rinoa in addition to worrying about the mission. Only Zell and he knew about her being in Deling City, and they were planning on keeping that secret. Squall thought that Quistis didn't need another distraction, and it wasn't her business anyway. At least he would make sure it didn't become her business. While he was thinking of Quistis, she strode into the room and he looked up at her.

Quistis was dressed in her stretchy exercise clothes. Tight black yoga pants and an even tighter pink tank top clung to her. It was time for her morning jog. Squall normally would have gone with her, but due to their recent strategy change, they were trying to do more things separately. Although nobody in their right mind would take a look at Quistis' confident posture and well toned body and think she was a target for anything.

 _What was I thinking? This mission is never going to succeed. The tactics are poorly thought out. Quistis is too strong and confident. Selphie is too loud and unpredictable. We should have brought somebody else along who would have been an easier mark. Did that girl who works at the library make SeeD?_ Squall thought with slight desperation.

"Squall, are you listening to me? Hello?" Quistis said with her arms crossed tightly over her compressed chest. Sports bras were really constricting, she couldn't help that she was currently flat as a board. Squall didn't have to stare.

Squall's eyes eventually lifted from Quistis' pink tank top towards her face. Her lips were pressed together tightly.

 _Seifer was right, he really is Puberty Boy,_ Quistis thought to herself.

"Sorry," he responded. Quistis thought he was staring at her chest, but he was merely thinking about the mission.

"What I was saying, was that I was going to go out for my jog. I'm going to also loiter in the parks and on the streets for awhile. I want to see what's out there, and be as visible as possible," Quistis said while heading towards to front door of the apartment.

Just as Quistis was about to open the door to leave, Squall called out to her.

"I forgot to ask how your evening out went last night."

Quistis turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

"It was... fine," she answered. "How was your evening with Irvine?"

Squall thought of the loud bar and the blonde woman who tried to hit on him, and then Rinoa suddenly showing up out of nowhere. Then he remembered taking Rinoa back to where she was staying, which turned out to be with Zell, and their little argument. He didn't want to tell Quistis about any of that. As he'd thought before, it wasn't really her business.

"Fine. It was fine," Squall answered quickly while wanting to immediately change the subject back to her. "Did you make any progress? Did anything unusual happen?"

Quistis shifted her weight and stuck her hip out. She took her fingers and brushed some of her baby fine blonde strands behind her ears before answering.

"Obviously I didn't succeed at our mission objective since you are talking to me. It was... relatively uneventful," Quistis said while waving her hand in the air.

Squall didn't like the sound of 'relatively,' or what her hand wave could have alluded to. What wasn't she saying?

"Relatively?" Squall asked to clarify.

"Yes, it was mostly quiet, I went out by myself. Got some dinner. Browsed through shops. Walked through the park and the streets endlessly. Mostly nothing happened."

"Mostly?" he asked. She was trying to gloss over something, but she didn't want to tell an outright lie. Squall could tell that she was slightly nervous as she couldn't look him directly in the eyes.

"Yes, well there was a small incident, but it was nothing I couldn't handle," she said.

Alarm bells started going off in Squall's brain.

 _Nothing she couldn't handle? What did she do?_ Squall thought to himself.

"Small incident?" Squall asked with feigned calm.

"Well, I may have seen a crime being committed. It wasn't a kidnapping or anything, so I was just pretending to be an ordinary helpless citizen. I didn't want to intervene. That would be out of character," she said.

"But?"

"But a young woman was being mugged. I stopped to watch and observe from a safe distance. I thought she'd be okay, she could always go to the police and file a report afterwards. But the woman tried to fight back and the attacker started getting violent, and I had to step in and do something."

"You're undercover," Squall said in low whisper.

"Isn't the whole point of this mission to protect the women of Deling City?" she said in a hissed whisper. "I'm not going to stand by and have somebody get brutally mugged and maybe even raped in an alley!"

Squall nodded his head at her. She did the right thing, even if it was breaking character.

"Anyways, even without my whip, I can handle myself just fine. I'm a SeeD. I snuck up, grabbed the guy by the back of his neck and pulled him off the woman. He spun around to attack me and I quickly and efficiently knocked him senseless. It was dark, I doubt he'd be able to identify me, probably. I got the lady off the ground and she ran away. It should be fine. I probably didn't blow my cover," Quistis explained quietly.

Okay, so maybe the evening out hadn't been successful for Quistis. She hadn't appeared to be a weak target at all. She basically was roving the night streets of Deling City as some sort of crime fighting superhero.

"Well, even if yesterday didn't go as planned, today you can try to look weak when you're out jogging," Squall offered. "I'm going to go out for a jog later, maybe I'll see you."

Quistis nodded her head before leaving the kitchen. She went to the front door and put on her running shoes before leaving the apartment. The door closed behind her softly.

 _Try to look weak? Quistis can do almost anything, except look weak. Maybe I should have Irvine cross dress. He's more likely to get kidnapped and need rescuing more than Quistis or Selphie._

Squall's outlook on the current mission was so hopeless that he momentarily considered the idea in earnest while tapping his callused fingers rapidly on the tabletop.

 _He's already got long hair and thick eyelashes. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad of an idea..._

Squall quickly shook the thought out of his head while giving the table a quick knock with his knuckles. That was too far. He'd stick to the current plan for now.

Time passed by slowly. After spending 20 minutes looking up possible leads on the Internet, Squall felt like he'd wasted too much of the morning. Going for a jog would at least accomplish something. He decided to go get ready to exercise while he allowed his mind to wander.

He wished he could go over to his bedroom and grab his gunblade out of the closet and then search out and destroy the kidnappers. He was getting sick of this whole undercover business. Tactics and strategy were one of his specialties, but his favorite thing to do was to empty his mind and rely on his physical training. Too bad it wasn't called for in this situation. Too bad the culprits weren't kidnapping people of his description. He'd have this mission over already. Although they'd have to be pretty stupid to target somebody who looked like him.

Serious and observant young man, medium height, well toned and athletic build. Somebody of that description would never be the target of a bunch of cowardly kidnappers. Those people preyed on soft and rich young women who weren't keeping an eye out for themselves or even knew the first thing about self-defense.

He walked over to the bedroom to put on his exercise clothes. He reached into his neatly arranged closet and pulled out a pair of black track pants to change into, and then threw on a plain white v-necked t-shirt. All he needed to do was get his running shoes on, so he walked to the front of the apartment to grab them.

 _Maybe I'll see something happening when I'm going through the neighborhood... Not likely... I wish somebody could help me with this,_ he thought as he pulled his laces tight before making a double knotted bow.

Squall proceeded to grab his keys and exit the apartment. He thumped down the apartment stairs with a slight smile tugging the corner of his lips. There was no sign of any of his prying neighbors and he was grateful for that. There were people in his apartment building who weren't overly curious and intrusive, but they were easily overlooked in comparison to their more lively neighbors. He thought people in a large city would be more likely to go about their business quietly, but that didn't seem to be the case here. Meddlesome gossips seemed to not only plague the quaint small town of Balamb, but Deling City as well.

As Squall walked out from under the apartment building's front porch, the sun beat down on his face. It was another hot summer day, but it wasn't as sweltering as it had been. In comparison to the recent weather Deling City had been experiencing, it was quite nice out. It wasn't humid, and there was a pleasant breeze that would help cool him off as he worked up a sweat while jogging. If this had been an actual vacation from being in SeeD, he might even be having a nice time.

Squall started to stretch out his arms, legs, and neck gently before starting up. He couldn't afford to pull any muscles, he always needed to be in top form. The unexpected could happen at any time, although so far this mission had been mundane and pointless. He'd been trapped playing house with Quistis while wasting time and money.

While Squall was mentally complaining to himself, a loud metallic clatter sounded nearby. Squall quickly turned his head to see a flash of movement by the side of the building. A metal trash can lid rolled out and stopped on the sidewalk. A small mutter of what could possibly be somebody's definition of swearing came from the alley.

There was a strange twisting sensation in his stomach, and he was suddenly on high alert. Squall proceeded with caution. As his head peered around the corner he saw nothing of interest. All he could see in the space between apartment buildings were fire escapes, dumpsters, and trashcans. He also saw what he hoped was a chipmunk scurry under a dumpster while several pigeons fluttered by. The soft cooing of pigeons and the occasional flutter of feathers was all he could hear.

 _Maybe an animal caused it,_ Squall thought with distress.

"Is anybody here?" he asked aloud to the alleyway.

A pigeon sitting on a trashcan with the missing lid continued to peck at the garbage. Suddenly it got spooked and flew away.

"Hello?" Squall called again.

"Meeeeeoooow..." came a sound from behind a trashcan.

 _Oh, it was probably just an alley cat,_ Squall thought very strongly.

A brief sigh of relief was heard after he thought that, and he saw the edge of a black ballet flat stick out from behind the trashcan. Squall grabbed his forehead in annoyance.

"It was just a cat," Squall said. "I guess I'll just go for a jog now."

Instead of walking back towards the street, he softly padded towards the trashcans and leaned over the top. Suddenly the entire trash can tipped over and spilled its contents into the alleyway as Rinoa stood up alarmed. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked down at her. She was wearing a dark blue jean skirt with a crisp sleeveless white button up shirt. Her long dark hair was pulled up into a neat and high ponytail. She grabbed at her necklace nervously while looking up at him.

Squall was no longer surprised to see Rinoa pop up in the most unlikely of places. He'd told her to stay away, so of course she'd show up on his doorstep, or at least the alley by his doorstep.

"What are you doing here? Are you going through my trash? That's too far, even for you," Squall deadpanned.

"Hey! I was just going for a walk, I'm a dog owner, and I go on lots of walks," Rinoa responded.

Squall didn't see any dog nearby.

"Where's your dog?" he asked with an eyebrow lifted.

"Um, actually I left Angelo back at the apartment to keep Zell company, but dog owners are very active... so I'm just going on a walk... by myself," she responded pathetically while walking out of the shaded alleyway with Squall.

"I thought we talked about this before. You can't just show up here. That's not how we're doing this," Squall said.

"I know! I just felt bad about our silly argument last night. I wanted to apologize for anything offensive I might have said or anyone offensive I might have compared you to. And... I wanted to see you again. But then when you actually came out of the building, and I saw you stretching out, I got scared that I should maybe just leave you alone," Rinoa said while brushing her hands on the front of her jean skirt and then twirling a lock of dark hair through her fingers.

"I don't want to talk about this here," Squall said.

 _Or talk about it ever,_ he thought quietly to himself.

Rinoa looked up at him with her large brown eyes and felt ridiculous. Everything she tried to do or accomplish resulted in something else entirely different than what she was expecting. She meant to just visit Zone and Watts in Timber, and here she was, caught hiding in an alleyway behind Squall's garbage cans. Maybe she should just get on a train and head back to Balamb Garden, go right into the library, and get a bunch of self-help books on being independent and overcoming codependency. Maybe Quistis could recommend something. She had it all together. She didn't need anybody. Rinoa Heartilly didn't have to be a damsel in distress anymore. Starting today, it would all be different. Even the longest journey is started with a single step.

Rinoa took a small step and tripped on a sidewalk crack. She would have fallen flat on her face if Squall hadn't reached out and caught hold of her upper arms quickly. Tears started forming immediately in her eyes. She felt so silly and stupid next to her accomplished SeeD friends, and even Irvine to a smaller degree. A few tears were visibly rolling down her pale cheeks now.

Squall's hands continued to lightly grip her bare arms. He wasn't sure if she'd completely regained her balance and he didn't want her falling down and hurting herself. He could just imagine having to carry her piggyback all the way back to Zell's apartment. Or if he had his way, back to Balamb Garden. He'd done transcontinental piggyback rides before, and he could do them again.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yea," she nodded while not looking okay.

She was possibly going to have a minor breakdown. Maybe she could do that with Zell, but not there. He had to get her out of the area quickly. This was throwing his plan off.

 _Not that your plan is working,_ he thought to himself.

"You're going to go home now, and we're clear on things?" Squall asked.

"Yea, I'll just get going now," Rinoa said as she briefly buried her wet face in the front of Squall's exercise shirt.

Squall could feel the wetness soaking through his shirt. He looked down to confirm his suspicion. The front of his white shirt now had a set of black mascara smears and a little bit of pink lipstick on it.

 _Now I'm going to have to soak and scrub two light colored shirts!_ he thought irritably. _That's the nice thing about wearing black, it hides stains!_

Squall started to gently push Rinoa away when he heard a feminine voice behind him. Rinoa got confused and gripped him harder. There was a slight struggle as he tried to disengage himself and turn around.

 _Ugh, I knew it! It's one of those annoying neighbors! Do they just peek out their windows all day waiting for something interesting to happen? It's the same one as last night. The blonde one. What's her name?"_

"Oh hello there... Victoria," Squall said.

"My name is Courtney," she replied.

"I'm sorry. I get you and Victoria confused. You could be sisters."

He was trying to distract and flatter the woman. He wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. Hopefully she liked that comparison. She smiled up at him, so maybe she did.

"Well, as I said, my name is Courtney. And who is your friend?" she asked while looking over at Rinoa.

Rinoa jumped at the woman's question. She quickly wiped at the tears on her face and tried to make herself look presentable. Some of the black eye makeup smeared across her cheeks, but she didn't know that. She was just starting to realize why Squall was serious about not blowing his cover. She'd have to come up with a good excuse. Maybe a fake name like the others had.

 _How'd that name game of Irvine's work? You take the name of your first pet and then the name of the street you grew up on,_ Rinoa thought to herself quickly. _But the street the Caraway Mansion is on is named after Vinzer Deling, I can't use that! I'll just do the pet name,_ Rinoa thought to herself.

"Nice to meet you," Rinoa said while extending her hand daintily to the well-dressed and nosy blonde neighbor. "My name is... Angelo... oops, excuse me... Angelina..."

The neighbor picked up on how long it was taking Rinoa to come up with a name.

"Nice to meet you too Angelina. How do you know Walter here?" Courtney asked while trying to catch them in an obvious lie.

 _Oooooh, it looks Walter has a girlfriend on the side. No wonder he's so cold with his wife and their relationship seems so strained and fake,_ Courtney thought.

"I'm... his... um... maid," Rinoa finished.

 _No! No! No!_ Squall thought.

Squall didn't want Rinoa having to show up periodically to clean his apartment now. Maybe he'd come up with something more vague.

"Yes, I hired her to do some light cleaning and run errands, but only occasionally when Kiki needs some extra help," he said.

Just as Squall thought the situation couldn't get any worse he heard somebody else approaching from behind.

"What is SHE doing here?!" Quistis asked with shock.

 _Nice save Quistis!_ he thought sarcastically.

Squall decided that he had to quickly fix the situation to the best of his ability.

"Kiki, you spoiled the surprise. I was hiring a maid to clean the apartment for you. I know how much you don't like to get your hands dirty," Squall said.

If the situation wasn't so serious, he'd be laughing. He recalled the many times he'd seen Quistis up to her armpits in monster guts. Nothing gory bothered her much, and she didn't mind getting dirty at all.

"Oh, well this IS a surprise," Quistis said with the shock still evident on her face.

Squall had to make it look like he was married to Quistis so he approached her and tried to act warmly towards her. His acting wasn't the best. He stiffly put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. Rinoa suddenly looked extremely angry. Quistis looked very confused. Squall looked like he was in physical pain. He hoped Courtney was buying his story.

"I guess I'll be going now," Rinoa replied while wishing she hadn't come by Squall's apartment in the first place.

"Don't you have to clean the apartment?" Courtney asked flatly.

Squall's eyes glazed over at this. This lady just wasn't going to leave them alone. He'd have to go through the motions.

"I'll show you the layout and where to find the cleaning supplies then," Squall explained wearily. "Shall we go inside ladies?" he asked with uncharacteristic warmness towards Quistis. His arm was still wrapped tightly around her.

Rinoa and Quistis nodded their heads in an uncomfortable manner before inching towards the apartment's front door.

Courtney stopped them once more with an additional question.

"Walter, I've been meaning to ask you. How'd you get that unusual scar on your forehead? Was it from a violent lovers' quarrel?" she half-joked while looking between Rinoa and Quistis.

"It was from a fencing accident from when he was in school. Walter was the captain of the fencing club," Quistis instantly replied in a sharp tone. She had memorized the back story packet for the mission. If only Rinoa had been as prepared.

"Aren't fencing swords blunted? Don't fencers were protective masks?" Courtney asked.

 _What, is she a detective? Just let us go lady,_ Squall thought to himself. _I guess meddlesome people are good at flushing out information._

"His opponent's sword must have been sharper than he was expecting. And usually fencers wear masks, but he wasn't wearing one during his training match. He wasn't expecting the other person to draw blood," Quistis continued to explain while frowning at her memory of Seifer's actions.

 _Good thing Quistis is always prepared,_ Squall thought.

Courtney listened to Quistis' story with careful attention. Everything about her neighbors was becoming more and more interesting to her. They all seemed so mysterious and on edge. Courtney noticed the annoyance, concern, and love in Walter's eyes when he looked at his 'maid.' She had never seen him look at his wife like that. It was all so odd, especially for such young people. They should still be in the newlywed stage still. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on in their lives. Their stories seemed so suspect. At the very least, somebody was having an extra-marital fling.

While Courtney was mulling over the new information, Squall tried to close the conversation. They needed to go upstairs and sort out what to do after this point.

"Well, we'll see you later then," Squall called towards Courtney as they walked towards the apartment's entrance. "It was so nice chatting with you." Squall's internal swearing conflicted with what he had just said.

As they walked into the air conditioned lobby of their apartment building, Quistis noticed that Squall walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. They all stood silently while waiting for the elevator doors to slide open. They walked inside and the doors closed. This was the first time they had used the elevator since they'd moved in.

 _It figures he would finally use the elevator now that Rinoa is here. Squall wouldn't dare make his princess climb five flights of stairs when she didn't have to... Stop being jealous Quistis! You aren't really married to Squall! Just calm down! You have no reason to be jealous of Rinoa... Although you do have a reason to be mad at her because she's endangering the mission,_ Quistis thought to herself while trying to justify some measure of anger at Rinoa's unwelcome intrusion.

A ding sound made Quistis come to her senses. They'd arrived at the fifth floor, so they all excited and walked down the hallway before coming to the doorway of their apartment. Quistis didn't waste time waiting for Squall to open the door. She pulled out her keys and opened the door and entered. Squall and Rinoa followed her in and she shut the door and locked it. Once they were all safely inside, Rinoa was the first to speak.

"What are we going to do now?!" Rinoa lamented loudly. She nervously looked between Squall and Quistis for direction.

Quistis spun around and narrowed her eyes at Rinoa before whispering to her.

"Keep your voice down, you never know who is listening in on us," Quistis said quietly while walking back to the door and peering through the peephole. It looked like nobody was currently in the hallway, but she never knew who could be walking by. Or in the case of some of their neighbors, she never knew who was eavesdropping on purpose.

Rinoa's eyes widened at Quistis' paranoid statement. Quistis was usually such a practical and levelheaded person that Rinoa was confused about what she'd just said. She looked up at Squall, and he just nodded in agreement with Quistis.

"If you are wondering what to do now, why don't you start cleaning the apartment since you are now our maid," Quistis whispered towards Rinoa.

 _I know I made Quistis angry, but is she joking? Does she really expect me to clean the apartment?_ Rinoa thought to herself. She looked up at Squall, but he had his hand over his eyes in frustration. _Fine, I know I messed up. I'll just go along with it!_

"She doesn't have to clean anything," Squall said to Quistis.

"Yes, she apparently does. She can't just leave our apartment five minutes after saying she was coming up to clean the entire place. The neighbor lady is going to see and start spinning stories about us all over town."

Squall could see Quistis' logic as to why Rinoa couldn't immediately leave, but he didn't see why she should have to do any work. She could just wait around a few hours and then leave.

"Where are your cleaning supplies?" Rinoa asked.

"They are in the bottom of the front hallway closet," Squall responded. "But I don't think that you really need to..."

"Just show me where they are!" she snapped at Squall.

 _Now they're both angry with me? What did I do?_ Squall thought defensively.

He walked over to the front hallway closet and showed her their assortment of cleaners and laundry detergent bottles. She seemed satisfied, but then furrowed her brows at the thought of actually using any of the products. Squall noticed her frustration. He pointed at a small feather duster that was hanging from a hook on the side of the closet. If she was going to insist, dusting seemed like pretty light work.

He then looked down at his own stained white shirt and noticed Rinoa was also wearing a light colored shirt. He reached back into the closet and pulled out a black cleaning apron and handed it to her. She quickly snatched it out of his hand before putting it over her head and tying it with a bow in the back. She did not look up to meet his eyes.

 _Rin?_ he thought at her apprehensively.

She ignored him and instead walked over to the coffee table in front of the couch and started dusting angrily. The soft and delicate feathers swished menacingly over the shiny tabletop with every flick of her wrist. The place was completely clean, so it was just for show, and maybe it would help Rinoa release some tension.

Quistis approached Squall and looked at the makeup stains that were all over his white exercise shirt. In the shock of what was going on outside, she had not even noticed. Her teeth grit together as she looked at him. He was just standing there with a lost expression on his face while wearing a shirt stained with another woman's makeup. This mission was just getting better and better.

"Why don't you go change into something more appropriate Walter," she said to Squall. Somebody had to step up and get the team back into shape. She wasn't his superior, but hopefully he'd obey some orders now that he was looking so confused.

"Okay," he responded while he took off his running shoes by the front door and then walked into the bedroom.

Squall wandered over to the bedroom closet and opened the doors. He peered inside and looked at what he could wear, but his brain wasn't working properly. Too many unexpected things had been happening recently. He reached out and grabbed one of his many light colored linen shirts. He carefully took it off its hanger and laid it out on the bed. He walked back to the closet and started to take off his stained shirt so he could throw it into the laundry hamper.

The door banged open as Rinoa walked into the bedroom with her duster. Squall had forgotten to lock the door. Although he figured people would stay out of the bedroom if he closed the door. She took one look at his naked back and jumped back startled.

"Eeeek! Sorry!" Rinoa yelped before turning around and running back out.

Squall walked back to the door and shut it firmly and locked it.

"In case you didn't realize, I'm changing my clothes. I'll be out in a minute," he said through the door.

 _Seriously, knock first._

Within a few minutes Squall had gotten properly dressed for the day. He was back wearing khaki pants and a crisply iron shirt. He carefully opened the bedroom door and look out towards the living room area. Rinoa was dusting a lamp while ignoring Quistis, and Quistis was sitting on the couch in her workout clothes with a small glass of wine while trying to ignore Rinoa's efforts at dusting. Squall took a deep breath and exited the seemingly safe bedroom.

"Angelina, my bedroom is pretty dusty," Squall said loudly to Rinoa.

"Sure is," Quistis muttered.

Rinoa looked up at Squall with her head tilted to the side. Her bangs and a few pieces of stray hair that had escaped her high ponytail flew into her eyes.

"I'll show you where it is," Squall said while flicking his head towards the bedroom.

"Pfft, I bet you will," Quistis said while taking another sip of wine and stretching out her long lean legs.

Rinoa followed Squall back into the bedroom. She'd only briefly been in there before while he'd been trying to change. He closed the door behind them and looked around suspiciously. They were far away from the front door and any of the windows, so he felt that he could speak fairly freely.

"Why did Zell let you come here?" Squall asked.

 _Is anybody following orders anymore?_ he thought to himself angrily.

"He didn't know I was going anywhere," she answered.

"Isn't he watching the surveillance feeds?" he asked.

"Yea well, he got distracted... accidentally," Rinoa answered.

"Accidentally?"

"Okay, he's not feeling the best. I just wanted to get out of the tiny apartment while he was sick. It was uncomfortable for us both."

"Okay, so he's sick now?" Squall tried to clarify. "And it was an accident that he got sick?"

Rinoa twirled the feather duster in his hands nervously. It sent a spray of dust particles into the air. She waited a moment before answering.

"Fine! I'll just tell you. I tried to make us breakfast this morning. I just had toast and fruit, but Zell wanted some scrambled eggs. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough or something, and it upset his um... tummy. And he was in and out of the bathroom a lot, so I just wanted to get out of there. Nothing there is very private. I didn't think I'd come all the way out here, but I just started walking, and then I thought about apologizing to you about last night... and here I am."

 _And here she is,_ Squall thought to himself. _Although how could anybody upset Dincht's stomach? That guy can handle nearly anything. Note to self: teach Rinoa about basic food safety._

"Okay, but don't do it again," Squall said halfheartedly.

 _Not that it matters anymore. She's going to show up no matter what, and now she's going to pretend to be the maid or errand girl or whatever she is,_ Squall thought to himself.

"Okay, so just stay here a few hours, then go back and stay with Zell. We'll keep in touch. You might have to come back here occasionally to have our cover story seem legitimate."

"Sure, I'll just keep dusting, I guess."

Squall nodded his head while turning to open the bedroom door. He stopped suddenly when he felt Rinoa's arms circling his waist from behind.

"Sorry," she said simply before letting her arms slip away.

He stared at the door but nodded his head at her apology. Reprimanding her actions now wasn't going to help. He was going to have to speak with Quistis next.

He exited the bedroom and left Rinoa in there to dust. When he walked into the living room Quistis was perched on the couch with her eyes staring though him. She was not happy.

"Kiki, I hope you don't mind, but I think it would be best if we had a maid come here occasionally to help out," Squall said.

"Pfft," was Quistis' reply.

Squall walked over to the couch and sat down at the end of it. He leaned forward with his elbows rested on his knees and held his head in his hands. He took a deep breath.

"If we are having this many problems, I wonder what is going on with Butch and Cassidy," Squall said.

Quistis sat up quickly and her eyes met with Squall. If they were having trouble, how did Selphie and Irvine's night out go?

* * *

End of Chapter 9

Next chapter: We get to hear about Selphie's night out!

Okay, Lecritic is the one who came up with the joke of Irvine dressing up as a lady (it's in the review section). I thought it was a pretty good joke, so I put it in here.


	10. Chapter 10

Newlywed Game - Chapter 10 - Selphie's Night Out

Last Night - 7:00 pm

"I'm so excited!" Selphie sang.

"Mmm hmm," Irvine mumbled in agreement.

He continued to hum along with the country music station that was playing from the clock radio on the nightstand. He was brushing out his long and slightly wavy reddish brown hair before putting it back into a low ponytail. When he was done he retrieved the hair tie that he'd been holding in his mouth so he could speak clearly.

"Yea darlin,' I can see that you're excited," he said while looking at her racing around their bedroom indecisively with her tiny puppy at her heels.

They were both getting ready for their evening out. Irvine was planning on taking Squall to a bar, and Selphie was planning on going out alone. It would increase her chances of being kidnapped. She'd be alone and a much more desirable target than if she was with either Irvine or her barking dog.

Selphie was having fun getting ready, and she was throwing herself into the process wholeheartedly. Irvine attempted to stay out of her way, but it was difficult in the close quarters. Selphie was running around between the closet and the bed trying to pick out the perfect outfit. Currently she was only wearing her chocobo print underpants and her satiny yellow bra because she couldn't decide on what to wear. She'd put on and taken off so many of her dresses and yet she was still undecided. A pile was forming on their bed from the clothes that she'd discarded. The bed was already unmade and rumpled, but the pile of clothes made it look even messier. Selphie and Irvine either didn't notice or mind the disarray because they were too busy preening themselves for the evening.

While Selphie was trying to get ready, Irvine peered at himself in the mirror that hung over their bedroom dresser to make sure his hair was looking the way he wanted it. His reflection looked good, but he wasn't so proud that he couldn't see that there was room for improvement.

Irvine reached out and tried to style the hair around his face. He wanted to make sure that the wisps of hair were just the way he liked them. He wanted to look casual, but not sloppy. Ironically, a lot of care needed to be taken so that it didn't appear that he had fussed over his hair too much. As Selphie dashed into the bathroom, he took the opportunity to use some of her vast collection of super-hold hair products and a bit of her shiny lip balm when she wasn't looking. He wanted to look good, and he didn't want his hair to look as untamed as Squall's. That look worked on Squall, but Irvine's hair was way too long to just let nature take its course. His long locks needed to be cared for properly. He didn't want to look like one of those unkempt hippies that lived in Fisherman's Horizon. That wasn't his style. His style was laid back cowboy. Correction, laid back and HANDSOME cowboy. He pressed his soft and shiny lips together before smiling and winking at himself in the mirror.

 _I'm looking good_ , thought Irvine.

Irvine's vanity was interrupted when he suddenly saw Selphie dash past him in the reflection again in only her underpants and bra. At the start of the mission, that sight would have more than drawn his attention, but he'd gotten used to it and now he did nothing more than give her a glancing look. It was an everyday occurrence now, and he'd started to get bored with it.

 _I wonder if Squall is getting as good a view of Quistis as I am with Selphie,_ Irvine thought to himself while trying to picture Quistis in her underwear.

He smiled to himself at the thought, but he couldn't even imagine it. Squall and Quistis were both so uptight that the very thought of them seeing each other in any state of undress was ridiculous. They probably slept in all their clothes and had a line drawn down the center of the bed so that no accidental touching ever occurred. Irvine always thought that Squall was wound so tight that he looked like he could snap like an overused guitar string at any moment.

 _That guy needs to get laid,_ Irvine thought. _Maybe I can help him relax tonight at the very least._

He was looking forward to his evening with Squall. They'd get to drink some beers, and he could flirt with women who weren't Selphie. It would be fun. Irvine's version of fun. Laid back and relaxing fun. That would be a welcome relief from all the nonstop high energy forced "fun" he'd been having with Selphie. Her version of fun was very draining, and Irvine needed to be replenished. His poor gentle cowboy soul felt like a dry desert that ached for a rainstorm and...

Irvine's self indulgent musing was cut short by an outburst.

"I want to be TOTALLY attention grabbing tonight!" Selphie yelled while pacing the room with frustration.

 _So do I_ , Irvine thought. This was the longest time that he had been in a steady relationship since, well, forever. Irvine sauntered back to the bed and flopped down beside her pile of clothes. He leaned back heavily on his arms and looked up at her through half-lidded eyes.

"If you go out like that, you'll catch yourself some stares," Irvine replied while looking at her as she stood in her underpants. "Everybody on the street will be whispering, 'what kind of adult woman wears chocobo undies?'"

Selphie frowned at him menacingly while making two tight little fists at her sides.

"And then they'll say, 'but I do believe she's pulling the look off quite well. She might even start a new trend. I'm sure jealous of that one,'" he finished.

Selphie smirked at him before hopping back towards the closet. She reached in and pulled out a short green mini-dress. It was a halter style and it would reveal her entire back.

"Oooooh, that'll work!" she said as she took it off the hanger and squirmed into it headfirst while discarding her bra. She pulled it down and turned around for Irvine to see.

"How do you like this one?" she asked.

Irvine opened his eyes and looked towards her. Eye catching would be a good description. The neckline plunged dangerously low, and the straps crept up and wrapped themselves around the back of her neck. The hemline was just as short as her usual yellow dress, but the combination of her exposed décolletage and bare back made the entire ensemble seem much more scandalous. Although she was now more covered than she was before, it looked much more alluring. There was something to be said about leaving a little to the imagination.

"Woooo honey, that is right on target!" Irvine said encouragingly while making his fingers point like a gun at her.

"Yeah! I'm so happy!" she said while doing a twirl. Cookie the dog sensed her extra excitement and ran around her ankles while barking happily.

"Ooooh, Cookie likes it too!" Selphie said while grabbing some jewelry to put on. "I'm going to do my makeup now!" she said.

Selphie was very excited. She'd been looking forward to her evening out. It would have been more fun if Irvine was going to join her, but she understood that the mission required somebody to be kidnapped. She wanted to be the one to get nabbed by the bad guys. It would be so exciting. Like winning the lottery, or arriving at your own surprise birthday party. She loved surprises. The only thing she liked more than surprises was blowing things up and beating people up. She couldn't wait to grab these bad guys. Then they'd be in for a surprise! She'd be like, "Oh, guess what? I'm not a little helpless girl! Booyaka! KABOOM! Revenge for the women of Deling City! With liberty and justice for all!" Or something like that.

She was bubbling over from the prospect of tonight being "the night" for things to really start happening. Having fun pretend newlywed times with Irvine had been a really happy time for her, but it was starting to wear a bit thin. He was so lazy and he would never stop playing country music. It was starting to drive her a little bit nuts.

 _Some people can be really oblivious to how annoying they can be,_ she thought to herself while applying her makeup in the mirror.

"I better make my makeup as eye catching as my dress, right Butch?" she asked Irvine. "I should probably wear more makeup than my natural looking stuff, don't you think?"

Irvine continued to lay on their bed while listening to the radio. He didn't even open his eyes.

"Yup," he replied slowly.

 _You think he could help me out more. I'm the star of tonight if everything goes right,_ she thought.

She carefully applied a heavy layer of foundation.

 _For a flawless face._

She dusted on a large amount of pink blush on her cheeks.

 _For that rosy glow._

She swirled her detail brush into a bright green eye shadow and started layering it on her lids.

 _Gotta match my dress. And my eyes... and my purse! Never can have too much green!_

She put on a heavy amount of black eyeliner before coating her top and bottom lashes in sticky mascara.

 _Wow, this is making my eyes pop! I should try to wear more makeup every day!_

She then applied a thick coat of bright pink lipstick before making a kissy face at herself in the mirror.

"Ooooh, I'm so excited!" she said while spraying perfume into the air and dancing around in the mist. "I feel pretty! Oh so pretty! La la la!" she sang happily. She spun around to show Irvine her 'new look' when she noticed that he'd already left the bedroom.

"Butch?" she called.

"I promised Walter I'd be on time," he called from down the hall.

 _When is Irvine ever on time?_ she thought.

She stuck her head out of the bedroom and clung to the door frame. She was just in time to see Irvine put on his trademark cowboy hat as he was leaving the apartment.

 _Where has he been hiding that hat?_

"See ya later honey!" he called right before the door shut.

 _Irvy didn't even turn around to see how I looked! And he didn't even kiss me goodbye! And I might even be kidnapped tonight,_ she thought while her spirits were temporarily dampened.

Cookie the dog sensed her distress and Selphie heard the dogs little feet pitter patter up to her. She quickly dropped down to her knees and scratched the fluffy dog behind the ears. She reached down and scooped up the fluffy puff ball of a dog and cradled her close to her chest.

"You wouldn't leave momma like that would you? No you wouldn't! No you wouldn't!"

There was no reply from the little dog. All Selphie heard was the low sound of country music coming from the bedroom. She put Cookie down and straightened her back. It would have been nice to have Irvine's support, but she didn't need it. She was a SeeD and she had a job to do. She slipped into a pair of high heels before grabbing her purse. Within a minute she had slammed the door shut to go out and begin her night. Five seconds later the front door burst open again and she poked her head back inside.

"Bye bye Cookie! I'll miss you sooooo much!"

The dog barked happily before Selphie slammed the door shut again.

* * *

Selphie bounced down the sidewalk unsteadily. She'd been out for hours walking around by herself and going around Deling City. It was still hot outside, so she'd recently popped into a bar to get a nice cold and refreshing drink. She wanted to keep a clear head, so she'd just gotten an iced tea. Unfortunately it was a Long Island Iced Tea, and she had gulped it down so fast that she hadn't realized it was alcoholic. It turned out that it was extremely alcoholic.

 _I don't think there was very much tea in that Long Island Iced Tea,_ Selphie thought to herself with a giggle. She was now slightly stumbling on her high heels while going down the sidewalk. _Is it my imagination or is this sidewalk slanting?_

Selphie looked up at traffic stop. There was a red light at the intersection, so she decided to change direction. The night was far from over, so instead of heading back to the apartment, she took a right turn down a side street where she hadn't been before. The cute shops and fancy restaurants that lined the previous street soon gave way to larger industrial buildings where there was a smaller amount of pedestrian traffic. She walked for a while not seeing anything or anybody interesting. Street lamps flickered on and off, illuminating empty beer bottles and cigarette butts that littered the street gutters.

 _I haven't seen anybody in a while, maybe I should turn back. I'm so thirsty, and I'm so bored._

When Selphie staggered another corner, she saw that there were a bunch of ladies hanging out under a street light. Her spirits instantly lifted. She loved being around people.

 _Time to make some new friends!_

Selphie walked toward the women when she heard a whistle from a passing car. It seemed kind of funny at the moment, so she did a little spin and bow at the car. When she righted herself her head spun a little. She wanted to hurry up so she could make some new acquaintances.

"Hey ladies!" she called while waving happily at the women.

The ladies were all wearing short little mini-dresses much like the one Selphie was wearing. The only difference was that Selphie had on a lot more flashy jewelry than any of the rest.

"Oh, I love all your dresses! They are so cute!" she said to them as she stood by their little group.

"Thanks sweetie," replied one of the women.

"And I love your makeup too! I was just playing with makeup earlier tonight. I'm not used to wearing this much. What do you think? Pretty great huh?"

Selphie stuck out her face and angled up towards the harsh streetlight to show off her heavily made up face.

"Yea sweetie, you look like a real pro," replied another one of the woman.

"I'm a pro!" Selphie yelled with her arms raised in the air happily.

The ladies started to giggle and Selphie giggled along with them until she was breathless.

"It's a beautiful night tonight. Do you ladies hang out here often?" Selphie asked.

"Yea, we hang out here all the time," replied one of the women.

"Allow me to introduce myself," slurred Selphie with one hand raised in the air. "My name is Cassie," she mumbled right as a bus rumbled by.

"What did you say? Candy?" asked the other woman.

"Woooo! Candy!" Selphie yelled.

"Hey that's my name too!" said another woman at the street corner.

"Teehee! You're named after candy... that doesn't make sense," Selphie giggled.

She looked up and saw a woman in a short black dress and a soft and fluffy white feather boa that was around her shoulders. Selphie marched up to the woman and grabbed her fluffy boa and rearranged it around the woman's neck.

 _Teehee! Now she looks like Squall!_

"You remind me of my friend!" she said while playing with the ends of the feather boa.

"Does she work around here?" asked the other woman with a smile.

"Work? Oh yeah, he never stops working hard! Night and day, around the clock! WORK! WORK! WORK!"

Selphie punched her right fist into her left hand for emphasis.

"He?" the woman inquired.

"Yea, he loves to work. Without work he wouldn't be able to function. He's a workaholic."

Some of the other women started laughing at her comments.

"So what are your names?" Selphie asked with her eyes squinted.

The first woman she was speaking to started to introduce them. "My name is Ginger, and that's Candy," she said while pointing towards the woman with the feather boa. "And that fine lady over there is Cinnamon," she said while pointing at a lady in a short red skirt.

"You guys sound delicious!" she giggled. Then she started laughing even harder. "And I have a friend named Cinnamon Sand!"

"Does she work around here too?" asked Ginger.

"No he doesn't," Selphie answered.

"He?" Ginger asked. "You know a lot of men in the business don't you?"

"Business men!" Selphie said loudly with her hands in the air.

"Speaking of business men," Ginger said as a dark car pulled up next to them. A tinted window slowly rolled down to partially reveal a man's face.

"Are any of you ladies looking for a good time?" he asked.

"I'm always looking for a good time!" Selphie said loudly with her hand clutched to her chest and her eyes wide open. She hadn't wasted a single second in responding.

"Would you like to go for a fun ride with me?" the man asked.

"It would beat walking around in these heels! And a fun ride sounds like... fun! Um... PAR-TY!" Selphie slurred. She ran around to the passenger seat to get into the stranger's car. Her hand slipped on the handle, and it took her several tries to get the door open. She quickly stumbled into the car.

The other women weren't the happiest about a newcomer encroaching on their territory, but Selphie's antics were pretty cute. They decided to not make a big deal about it. Somebody else would come by soon enough.

When the car turned around and pulled away Selphie rolled down the car window.

"Bye ladies! Nice meeting you!" she called as she waved happily out the window as they started to move down the street. Her entire upper half of her body was hanging dangerously out of the moving car.

"Calm down sweetie, don't hurt yourself," the man responded while catching a glimpse up her short dress. Her chocobo undies were on full display. He tried to reach out and pull her back in when she abruptly jumped back and sat down properly. He pulled his hand quickly back before it got crushed. She put on her seat belt.

Selphie turned around to look him over. It was dark, so she couldn't make out particulars, but he was a dark haired man who was either in his later twenties or early thirties. He was dressed in something she would call business casual. He was just a regular looking guy who probably had some kind of regular yet boring job. She wondered what his name was.

"OH WAIT! Introductions! That's an important part of making friends. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Cassie. What's your name?" she said.

The man hesitated for a moment. "Why don't you just call me John," he responded.

"John? What a weird name. I don't think I've heard it before," she said.

"Really? It's a very common name."

"Well, it's not a common name among the people I hang out with," Selphie said while peering out the car window as the lights of Deling City sped by.

She then giggled and bounced in her seat as they drove. John seemed to be amused by her childish behavior.

"You seem kind of young. How old are you anyway?" he asked.

"Oh I'm as old as the hills John. Actually I'm totally not, but I feel old. You wouldn't believe the things I've seen and experienced in my young life," Selphie explained. "I'd love to tell you, but I CAN'T," she whispered loudly while reaching out and patting him on his arm.

She suddenly stopped when she touched him.

"Wow, your arms are like really hairy!" she exclaimed while continuing to pet his arm. "So fluffy! It's like having a pet!" Being drunk had increased her tactlessness.

"Is that going to bother you?" he asked.

"No, why would it bother me?"

They continued to drive for a few minutes. Selphie took the time to enjoy the air conditioning and the rest her feet were getting. She stretched sleepily and looked out the window at the ugly industrial scene before her. She thought they'd go for a pleasant ride through one of the nicer parts of Deling City. Maybe John was lost. Did he think this was fun?

"This "fun ride" of yours isn't very scenic," Selphie complained. "When does the fun start John?" she asked.

"How about now?" he responded while pulling into an empty industrial lot near an abandoned factory.

"Why are we parking here?" Selphie asked.

"Um, I thought it would be fun if we could get into the backseat and... um, talk," John said.

Selphie was a natural friend maker. Wherever she went, she made friends. She didn't think in terms of "stranger danger." After all, strangers were just potential friends. Even so, she should have been alerted to her new friend's odd behavior, but she still was pretty drunk on that Long Island Iced Tea.

"Okay, you want to go to the backseat to TALK? I can hear you just fine from here, but whatever you say JOHN!" she said while crawling into the backseat. She accidentally flashed her underpants yet again as her legs kicked out behind her. John continued to park the car, leaving the motor running along with the air conditioning, and then got out of the car and got into the backseat in the more sensible way.

Selphie stretched out on the black leather interior as John got in beside her. She rubbed her hands against the leather until it made several annoying squeaky noses.

"Oooh, nice black leather! My friend would love this!" Selphie said.

Squeak went the leather.

"Is your friend really into leather?" he asked.

Squeak! Squeak! went the leather as she continued to rub it.

"She? Why does everybody assume all my friends are girls?" Selphie said absentmindedly while she stopped rubbing her hands on the leather. "But, YES, he's totally into leather. Like belts and other stuff."

"Whips?" he joked.

"Oh no, of course not!" Selphie said. "That's my OTHER friend!" she laughed while nudging John's leg with her foot.

John laughed along with her. He didn't know if she was joking, but he liked her lighthearted mood. She said that she'd had a rough life, and he could imagine that she was telling the truth if she was hanging out on street corners at night. Somehow her personality seemed so resilient and upbeat despite all that. He figured that she must have a very strong character... or was totally crazy. Either way, she was certainly more interesting than most.

He started to edge closer to her in the dark. "Are you cold?" he asked as he leaned towards her and put his arm around her bare shoulders.

Selphie lightly shook him off her shoulders before responding.

"Of course I'm not cold. It's the middle of summer... and there's been a recent heat wave. And if I were cold, I'd be loving it. I love crisp and cold air... blue skies, white capped mountain tops," she slurred.

He sat back against the leather seat and furrowed his brows. This was not what usually happened when he picked up a girl. She was making the whole transaction difficult. Girls in her position were a lot more customer friendly. He wondered if he was going to have to initiate everything. He reached out and rubbed his hand up and down her thigh.

"You've ever been to the mountains?" he asked while trying to make her comfortable.

Selphie brushed his hand off her leg without even fully realizing it was there. She was Irvine's girlfriend after all. Being pawed at seemed normal to her now, and she wasn't thinking clearly anyways.

"Oh yea, I grew up near some icy cold mountains. It was so nice! I could go ice skating or skiing nearly any time of the year. Seriously, I could make snowmen, snowwomen, snowpuppies, snowkitties..."

John leaned towards her and slid his hands up her extremely short skirt while leaning in to kiss her throat. Selphie gasped for air and completely stiffened as she felt his mouth on her. She was not expecting her new friend to be this, well, friendly. Anger was cutting through her drunkenness, and it energized her.

"Um, what are you doing?" Selphie asked while grabbing his wrists easily and twisting them away from her body with disgust.

John instinctively struggled against her surprisingly strong grip. He felt that he had been patient enough and he was starting to get angry.

"Okay, it was cute when you were playing innocent before, but we all know why we are here. So why don't we just cut to the chase. If I wanted to have to deal with a regular girl talking my ear off all night, I could have just gone out to a singles bar instead of picking you up off of a street corner," John replied.

"Excuse me?" Selphie asked while sitting upright. "What did you just say to me? You're talking about me like I'm some kind of..." she trailed off because she didn't want to say it out loud.

The backseat of the car was completely silent while they stared at each other. Suddenly Selphie jumped as she heard a knock at her window. She rolled down the tinted window and saw a large and heavy police officer shining a flashlight into her face.

"Could you please exit the car ma'am?" the police officer said.

"Huh?" Selphie asked before realizing what the officer wanted. "Oh no! Don't worry. I know I've been drinking, but I haven't been driving. I mean, look at me. I'm in the backseat!"

"Please exit the car," the officer instructed.

Selphie turned around to check on John. His face was in his hands.

"Oh no, not again," he whispered.

She was angry at him, but she didn't like seeing somebody in distress.

"Don't worry John, this is just a mistake. We weren't drinking and driving!" she said. "Well I was drinking and YOU were driving, but we weren't you know, drinking AND driving."

Selphie got out of the backseat of the car and stood next to the police officer. She stumbled a bit before turning to look at John while he stepped out of the car.

"Officer, there's been some kind of misunderstanding," she said while looking up at John before he suddenly started sprinting down the street. It felt like she just blinked and he had already turned down an alleyway and disappeared. "John! Where are you going?! Come back!" she yelled.

The heavyset police officer just let out a weary sigh and said, "I'm not chasing that guy. I guess I'll just have to just bring you in."

"Bring me in? For what?" Selphie asked.

"You're under arrest for prostitution."

"WHAT?!" she yelled as her mouth dropped open in complete shock.

"You have the right to remain silent..."

Selphie let out a bloodcurdling shriek as the police officer produced a set of shiny metal handcuffs.

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

The noisy and smoky bar was full of people dancing. Irvine was one of the happy and slightly tipsy bar goers who were just out for some fun. He'd been trying to have a good time with Squall, but the commander was being his usual uptight self. Irvine had been relieved when a woman had come up to hit on him. He wanted an excuse to leave Squall to brood. A little bit of drunken dancing would be fun.

He was currently dancing next to a tall brunette in a revealing purple dress. She'd been friendly enough. He hoped his flirting skills hadn't gotten rusty while he'd been with Selphie. She seemed to be responsive to him.

Irvine turned to check on Squall, but he didn't see him seated at the bar anymore.

 _He must have gone back home,_ Irvine thought. _Oh well, I tried to loosen him up. That's a lost cause I guess._

The song finished and another one started up as Irvine and the woman continued to dance.

"Hey do you want to get out of here and go back to your place?" the woman asked.

Irvine lifted his brows at her. He liked the sound of that. He didn't thinks she'd be this forward with him. Lady luck was smiling on him tonight.

"Well sure honey. That sounds great. Except I have a roommate that might not be cool with that. How about we go back to your place?" Irvine suggested.

"Okay, if that's what you want," she responded with a smile.

"Sure as sugar that's what I want," Irvine said. He was about to sweet talk her further when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

 _Not now,_ he thought. _This better be important, and not Dincht calling up because he's lonely again._

"Hold on a minute honey," Irvine said to the brunette before putting his phone up to his ear and turning slightly away from the flirty woman. "Hello?" He quickly pulled the phone away from his ear when shrill shrieking noises came out of it. He slowly put the phone up to his ear. "Wait, what? Kale? You want me to bring home some kale?"

He turned away from the phone to whisper to the tall brunette who was waiting for him on the dance floor. "Hold up there honey, I think my roommate wants me to buy some groceries or something before I come home."

Irvine put the phone back to his ear to continue to listen to the garbled and high pitched noises. The music in the bar was very loud, and it was hard to make out what was being said through the phone. Irvine jumped a bit when he finally understood what was happening. "WHAT?! BAIL?!" he yelled into the phone.

"What's going on?" the woman asked while putting her hand on Irvine's arm.

"I'm terribly sorry honey, but something has suddenly come up. I am needed elsewhere tonight. Thank you kindly for your offer, but I really must get going," Irvine said while inching away from the dance floor. He tipped his cowboy hat at her before turning to rush towards the bar exit.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Irvine burst into the police station looking for Selphie. He wished he'd been able to get there faster, but he had to rely on Deling City's public transportation. The buses were frequent, but not when a loved one/work acquaintance was in possible distress. He hoped she was okay.

His eyes scanned the drab looking police station. There were desks covered in stacks of paperwork and handcuffed people being led around by uniformed officers. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead setting a depressing and hopeless mood. The place had a specific smell, but he couldn't quite place what it was, but it sure wasn't roses.

"Do you need some help?" asked the police woman that was closest to him.

"Thank you ma'am, I do need some help," Irvine said as he smiled down at the woman who was seated behind a desk covered in official looking paperwork. "I'm here to post bail for a..." he paused slightly while giving her a big smile, "friend."

Irvine wasn't fully sure why he was even in the police station. He hadn't understood most of what Selphie was babbling about on the phone, other than she needed somebody to post bail for her.

 _What did she do? I hope she didn't blow something or someone up._

"Okay, just go up to that desk over there, and that officer will help you out," the policewoman responded while pointing to a desk in the corner.

Irvine turned to walk towards another desk.

"I'm here to post bail for somebody," Irvine told the policeman at the other desk.

The officer didn't even look up from his computer while responding, "you have the wrong desk. Go over to that desk over there and they will help you out."

Irvine turned yet again and approached yet another desk. This time a young policewoman was sitting and typing away at her computer.

"I'm trying to post bail for a friend, I hope this is the right desk," Irvine said with a strained smile.

"Actually you have the wrong desk and..."

Irvine took a seat in front of her desk and leaned his elbows on it before placing his head on the tops of his fists.

"If you could help me, I haven't been in this police station before and I don't know the proper procedure. I just want to help my friend out that's all," he said while blinking his long eyelashes at her. "I'd sure appreciate any help you'd be able to give me. I'm sure you know everything about this place and the procedures and all. I'm just a novice here and could use some of your helpful guidance."

He lifted his eyebrows at her hopefully.

"Well, I guess I could show you where to go," she said.

The young police woman stood up from her desk and showed Irvine where he could post bail. Luckily Irvine had enough cash on hand. After he'd paid, the police woman walked him back to where the station's lock up was.

He walked down the dark hallway and suddenly heard Selphie's sing-song voice.

"I spy with my little eye... something that is gray!" Selphie said. She waited several moments before asking, "Doesn't anybody want to guess? Anybody? Just a little tiny guess? Do you guys need a hint?"

Irvine rushed down the hallway to where the holding cell was. He saw her bare back pressed up against the bars of the cell.

"Cassie honey, are you okay?" Irvine said.

Selphie spun around when she heard Irvine's voice. She looked up at him with relief and happiness on her face. Irvine had come to save her!

Irvine's eyes looked her over, starting at her feet and working their way upwards. Her short green halter dress seemed rumpled, but she didn't appear to be injured. When Irvine got to her face he jumped back in surprise, but tried to cover up his reaction. Her makeup was brightly colored, overdone, and now smeared terribly around her eyes and lips.

 _Did she go outside of the apartment with makeup like that!? She looks like a clown or... a prostitute,"_ Irvine thought. _Is that what she got arrested for?!_

He was only slightly relieved that she hadn't blown anything up. At a future point in time this would be funny, but not now. He was just relieved that she hadn't completely blown her cover.

 _I'm probably gonna have to call Squall and give him a heads up about this. I think it can wait until tomorrow though, I better get Selphie home and calmed down._

As soon as the police officer unlocked the jail cell, Selphie barreled into Irvine's chest. She grabbed his arms and forced them around herself for support and comfort.

"It's okay Cassie honey. It's just a misunderstanding I'm sure. Now let's get you home."

 _So we can wash off your face,_ he finished in his head.

End of Chapter 10

)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Squall is not going to like this!


	11. Chapter 11

Newlywed Game - Chapter 11

Squall and Quistis were currently sitting on the couch in their apartment the morning after their night out. They were upset over the amount of problems they had been having with their Deling City mission. Progress wasn't being made, and now Rinoa had nearly blown their cover by being spotted by one of their nosy neighbors. She now had to pretend to be their maid. Quistis was not happy about the intrusion and neither was Squall. He wanted Rinoa as far away from this messy mission as possible. Too bad Rinoa had a rebellious streak in her. She usually did the opposite of whatever anybody ordered her to do.

Squall sighed while holding his head in his hands.

"If we are having this many problems, I wonder what is going on with Butch and Cassidy," Squall said.

Quistis sat up quickly and her eyes met with Squall. If they were having trouble, how did Selphie and Irvine's night out go?

"I'm sure they are fine," Quistis said in tone that sounded like she was trying to reassure herself. "If anything had happened, they would have alerted us by now."

Squall straightened his slouched back and looked over at Quistis as she sipped at her glass of wine. Her logic seemed sound. He didn't need to worry about the others. If he could just take a deep breath and relax, maybe his back muscles wouldn't be so unbearably tense. Squall tried to stretch out his back while rubbing his neck.

 _I wish somebody here could help me with my back,_ he thought silently while looking at Quistis and thinking of Rinoa.

"You're right, we would have been alerted by now if something had happened last night," he said.

Squall's cell phone started ringing while he was speaking.

 _Ugh, here we go,_ he thought.

He reached over to the coffee table to pick up his phone. Quistis raised an arched blonde eyebrow at him and got ready for the news.

"Walter speaking," Squall said when he answered his phone.

Quistis could hear soft and mumbled speaking through Squall's phone, but she didn't know what was being said on the other end. She assumed it was Irvine and Selphie checking in. The look on Squall's face got tenser the longer the phone call went on. The muscle of his jaw clenched rigidly. It didn't appear to be good news. Suddenly Squall's free arm shot out to the side in a sweeping motion before he responded.

"That's enough. You both should come over here so we can talk in person. Then we'll be able to decide what to do from this point forward. Get yourselves over here as soon as possible. That's an order," he snapped while hanging up the call.

He felt like his hold on the mission was spinning out of control. Selphie and Irvine weren't doing a good job. He and Quistis weren't making progress. Zell was recovering from mild food poisoning. And now Rinoa was in his bedroom trying to dust already immaculate surfaces. What was going on and how did all of this happen? He was the mission leader, he had to pull everybody together and get this job done. He hated the feeling of hopelessness that being out of control brought with it. He was now going to overcompensate by ordering his troops around.

 _Irvine and Selphie better get over her very quickly,_ he thought.

"Walter, I can see that you are thinking, but were you going to share any of your thoughts with me?" Quistis asked him.

Squall was pulled out of his internal thoughts and looked up at her with narrowed eyes.

"Butch and Cassidy are coming over," he said without elaborating further.

"Okay, and why are they coming over?" she asked, trying to tease valuable information out of him.

 _Selphie. Arrested. Prostitution._

He opened up his mouth to explain, but nothing came out. He looked up at the ceiling and expelled a long breath while running his hand through his brown hair. He tilted his head to the side and tried to say something again, but he was having trouble expressing himself.

"I think it would be best if they explained themselves to you Kiki," he said finally.

Quistis put her wineglass down and sat upright. She settled her hands on her thighs and looked straight ahead.

 _What could have happened? Why isn't he telling me anything now?_ she thought to herself.

"It's getting later in the morning, maybe we can all have lunch together while they are here," she suggested. "It could be like we had a planned lunch date."

Squall nodded his head at her comment, but it didn't look like he was listening very closely. He was trapped in his own world for the moment. Quistis decided she'd try to relax as best she could before Irvine and Selphie came over. She had a feeling whatever had happened was not good, and there would be a lot of tension coming soon.

 _What is Rinoa still doing in the bedroom?_ Quistis thought with irritation while she waited. _She's probably taking a nap._

Quistis sat and lightly flexed her fingers while continuing to wait for Irvine and Selphie to come over.

 _They'd better be hurrying,_ she thought while imagining Irvine taking his sweet time and Selphie trying to energetically push him to go faster.

Squall and Quistis had been sitting silently with their thoughts for about 15 minutes before they heard a knock at their door.

Quistis jumped at the interruption. She didn't realize she'd been coiled like a snake in anticipation of their arrival. Within a moment she was on her feet and opening the door for them.

"Oh it's Butch and Cassidy! How nice to see you both again. You're a bit early for our lunch date, but that's okay. Why don't you come inside?" she said clearly out into the hallway.

Irvine looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. He didn't understand why she was saying all these things to the hallway. Did Squall not tell her what was going on? He let Selphie walk into the apartment first while he followed.

Selphie stomped into the apartment and removed her shoes along with Irvine. She seemed extra tense and fidgety with her arms crossed tightly across herself. Today she was wearing a long and loose sundress with large sunglasses and a big floppy sunhat. It looked like a she was trying to hide herself under everything. It was the most modest dress that anybody had ever seen Selphie wearing before. Irvine came up behind her and placed a hand on her bare arm and she flinched away.

Squall stared at them in silence.

"Why don't you both have a seat for now? We can have lunch later," Quistis said while locking the front door.

Irvine walked over and sat on an upholstered chair on the side of the coffee table. Selphie took a seat on the twin chair on the opposite side of the coffee table. Quistis walked back and sat on the couch with Squall.

Everybody was silent. The tension that was between Quistis and Squall earlier was magnified tenfold. Quistis was about to speak, but decided to wait until someone else spoke. They'd be able to explain in their own time. Level-headed patience was a quality she admired in others. A fair amount of time passed where everyone was just looking at each other. One minute, two minutes, still nobody spoke. Patience aside, Quistis felt that this was getting a little bit ridiculous.

"Isn't somebody going to explain to me what is going on?!" she snapped. "Please," she added in a quieter tone.

Selphie looked up at her from underneath her floppy hat.

"Walter didn't explain yet?" she said in a timid voice.

"No, he didn't," Quistis said while looking over at Squall's tense face.

"They should explain themselves," Squall said in a strained way while still trying to maintain his professional attitude.

Selphie was clearly uncomfortable, and she looked up over her sunglasses at Irvine with pleading eyes for help. She didn't want to say what had happened in front of everybody. She was so embarrassed. Irvine picked up on her body language, and decided to do the talking.

"Okay, as you know, I went out to a bar with Walter last night," Irvine explained. "And Cassie had some girl time to herself, as you may also know," Irvine paused, not sure how to proceed. He stroked his chin while he was in thought for a moment. This was a delicate subject. He didn't want to cause Selphie any additional distress. But maybe directness would be the best. He wasn't exactly sure.

"Just tell me what happened," Quistis said impatiently.

Irvine put his hands up in the air and took a deep breath.

"She got drunk, hung out with some street prostitutes, got picked up by a John, then arrested for prostitution," he said quickly before drawing another deep breath. "Then she called me while I was at the bar and then I had to go to the police station and post bail for her."

Quistis' eyes went wide at what Irvine had just said. Selphie curled her legs up underneath her tent-like dress and pulled her floppy hat over her entire head.

"WHAT!?" Quistis yelled.

Quistis looked over at her friends. Squall was staring beyond them all and focusing on a small point on the wall across the room. He seemed unresponsive. Irvine seemed only slightly uncomfortable while he had a small smirk on his face. Selphie was falling to pieces and rocking herself back and forth in her chair. This mission was not going well.

"Are you okay?!" she asked Selphie. "The guy didn't do anything to you did he?!"

Selphie shrugged her shoulders and started to sniffle. She was on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry. She's fine!" Irvine responded. "It was just a misunderstanding. She's more embarrassed than anything."

Selphie looked up at Irvine. Maybe he was trying to make it sound better than it was for her benefit, but she felt that she had to clear things up. She put her legs back down on the floor and threw her big hat and sunglasses onto the coffee table before her with a loud clatter. She stood up abruptly.

"I'm not JUST embarrassed! I feel... so dirty..." she complained. "It was... He just... Ugh... I can't believe that..." she couldn't finish what she was saying. She looked over at Squall before turning back towards Quistis. "I'll tell you the details another time Kiki," she finished while looking dejected.

Squall stood up and Selphie sat back down.

"Okay, I'm extremely disappointed in you guys," he said while looking over at Irvine and then Selphie. "I expected clear-headed professionalism from you guys."

 _Or at least Selphie,_ he thought while narrowing his eyes at Irvine's dirty feet that were perched on the end of his clean coffee table.

He felt that it was time to take control. He cleared his throat and began speaking in commanding yet quiet tone, so nobody in the hallway would be able to hear him.

"This mission is a disaster. We are no closer to finding out who did this than when we began. Any day now another women will be kidnapped and it will be our fault. We need to get this train back on the right track. Was there anything that anyone saw or heard last night that has given you any clue to the whereabouts of the kidnappers or who their next target is? We need to be serious and cut out all distractions. I know this is different than many of the other missions that we have been on. There is no clear target. But you can't just play around, get drunk, and do things just for the fun of it. We can't afford to have Selphie getting arrested or Quistis being a nighttime vigilante. We have to be professional and responsible for this mission. And no more unnecessary distractions!" he said in a low but strained voice.

While Squall was giving his speech Rinoa had wandered down the hallway to the living room to see what was going on.

Irvine looked up in shock to see Rinoa standing there in a black apron while holding a small feather duster. She twirled the duster nervously in her hands while surveying her friends.

"Distractions?" Irvine said while nodding his head towards Rinoa. "Hey man, what about your own distractions?"

Squall turned around and saw Rinoa standing there awkwardly. She shifted her weight from foot to foot while looking up towards everybody from behind her dark bangs. He'd forgotten all about her while talking with Irvine on the phone about Selphie's arrest. How'd he forget about her for even a minute? He figured he'd have to tell the others why she was here. He was about to speak when Selphie was starting to react to Rinoa's presence.

When Selphie stopped sniffling and turned around to see Rinoa standing there, her eyes had lit up with delight. She hadn't seen her friend in awhile, and she'd missed her. Being with Irvine was fun, but she needed some serious girl time. Plus she would love to tell Rinoa all the sordid details of the night before, it would be therapeutic. Rinoa would be much more kind and sympathetic than any of her Garden friends. Garden tended to kill off people's more tender feelings. It was just a side effect of the job.

Selphie jumped out of her seat and ran over to Rinoa. She balanced on one leg and then leaned into Rinoa to wrap her bare arms around her neck energetically.

"Oh Rinny, I'm so glad to see you," Selphie said as she squeezed Rinoa tightly. Rinoa was used to Selphie's hugs, and she tried to go as limp as possible. As a result she accidentally dropped the feather duster she was holding.

"Um, you must have mistaken me for someone else, my name is Angelina," Rinoa said louder. A look of confusion crossed Selphie's face.

Rinoa turned and gave a thumbs up to Squall. He responded by quietly covering his face with the palm of his hand. She turned back to Selphie.

"Hi, I'm Walter and Kiki's new maid. They hired me to clean their apartment," Rinoa said with a sheepish smile. She stooped down to pick up the feather duster and waved it around in the air for Selphie to see.

 _This undercover thing is not so difficult_ , Rinoa thought with a smile.

"Um, okay?" Selphie said. "Well, ANGELINA, I have loads of stuff I'm dying to tell you," she said while grabbing Rinoa by the arm tightly. She quickly turned her head to look back at the others before dragging Rinoa towards the bedroom with several little skips and hops. The bedroom slammed shut behind them.

Squall silently watched the whole scene with tight fists. None of this was going the way he wanted it. Although, he was currently at a loss for what to do next. Even so, he wanted to appear like he was in control of the situation.

Irvine's voice broke his concentration.

"Hey Walter, could you pull some strings and get Cassie's record cleaned up?" Irvine asked.

"Some strings?"

"Yea, we know some Deling City people in high places don't we?"

 _He's right. I should alert General Caraway to the situation and get Selphie's arrest expunged. We don't want it causing any problems later. It wouldn't hurt to apprise him of our current situation either. Maybe he has some useful information for us,_ Squall thought.

He heard a burst of laughter from Selphie and Rinoa in the bedroom while he thought about picking up his phone.

 _Maybe I should wait to hear from Selphie more about last night. I need to do a debriefing with Selphie about her experiences. Maybe she saw something that could be useful,_ Squall thought.

Another burst of noise came from his bedroom. More giggling and high pitched noises.

Quistis slapped her hands onto her thighs with a huff.

"That's it! I'm going to go see what they are doing in there!" she said.

 _Why don't they ever remember to invite me to any of their little get togethers?_ she thought.

Quistis stood up from the couch and walked over to her bedroom door. She swung the door open and went inside before slamming the door shut behind her.

Squall and Irvine listened for a minute to the springs of the bed bouncing while alternating muffled sounds of a smooth low voice (Quistis), high pitched exclamations (Selphie), and melodious soothing sounds (Rinoa).

Irvine smirked and raised his eyebrow suggestively at Squall.

"Hey man, what do you think they're doing in there?" Irvine asked.

"Talking."

"I mean, do you think they're doing anything else in there?" Irvine asked while wiggling his fingers in the air.

"No."

"Seriously, do you have any imagination at all?!" Irvine exclaimed while brushing some of his wispy hair out of his face.

 _Do I have an imagination?,_ Squall thought to himself. _I do, but not like Irvine's. I mostly imagine terrible things happening. That's why I try to focus on the facts. It doesn't do any good to think too much. It only leads me down roads I don't want to go._

"Focus on the mission, Butch. I'm letting them get off track because Selphie had a traumatic experience last night. If she gets to vent her feelings now, she'll be able to focus better later," Squall explained.

 _And if she vents her feelings to Rinoa now, she won't vent them to me later,_ Squall thought.

"Do you have any pertinent information regarding this mission. Anything at all?" Squall asked Irvine.

"No. I got nothing. What are we going to do? I know there wasn't an exact time frame to this mission, but what if we continue to make poor progress? At a certain point will they just say the mission failed and send us back to Balamb?" Irvine asked.

 _I don't like to think about mission failure as a serious possibility. I had hoped that we'd have more to go on by now. Hope? When did I turn into the person who hopes? I've got to get this done with my own two hands._

"Mission failure isn't an option," Squall responded.

"Yea sure, I know that's the attitude we should all have, but seriously what if we can't..."

"Not an option," Squall repeated.

Irvine put up his hands and decided to back off from Squall. He didn't want to argue with him. He didn't ever want to argue with anybody. Why fight when everything eventually blew over anyway? He preferred to just sit back and put his feet up. Literally and figuratively. It'd work itself out one way or another. Even if this particular mission failed, they'd get assigned another one soon enough. No skin off his nose.

A creaking sound came from down the hall. The bedroom door was slowly being opened and Selphie walked out with her arm linked with Rinoa's. Quistis followed them back into the living room. Selphie's face looked lighthearted again even though it looked like she had been crying. Rinoa looked over at her friend sweetly and gave her an encouraging smile.

 _See, Rinoa is helping on this mission!_ Squall thought to himself. _Wait, why am I defending her to my own mind?_

Quistis strode to the center of the room and stood in front of the coffee table. She looked down at Irvine and Squall.

"Although Cassie's night might have not gone the way she planned, she did find some valuable information," Quistis said.

Selphie bounced up next to Quistis and threw her arm around her tightly.

"Yea, while I was waiting for Butch to post bail for me, I heard some interesting stuff in the jail cell," Selphie said.

Squall's eyes focused on Selphie. This is what he'd been wanting. This is what everybody had been waiting for. He nodded his head at her to continue.

"Well at first I was really upset because of..." she looked down at her feet, "because of well, you know what happened. But then I tried to make friends with the other ladies in the lock up. I had been trying to play games with them to pass the time. Like eye spy, and things like that," Selphie explained.

Squall's eyes began to glaze over. Too many details.

"So although they weren't the most friendly ladies there. I was able to loosen them up. And I just so happened to ask them about the recent kidnappings while playing games."

Squall perked up at this.

"I pretended to not care TOO much, but I asked if they knew anything about it. And some of the other prostitutes had been hearing some things..."

"You're not a prostitute!" Quistis exclaimed.

Squall glared at Quistis. He now didn't care how Selphie told her story. He just wanted to get the information out of her.

 _Be quiet and let her speak,_ Squall thought to himself.

Selphie put her hands up in the air and nodded her head.

"Okay. Well, you know what I meant. Anyways, the other... I mean the prostitute ladies in the lock up thought the story was really interesting and funny. They obviously weren't scared because they weren't being targeted. They said it was a rich ladies' sort of problem. And finally there was an upside to not being a rich lady. So anyways, they said that they'd heard on the street that all those people that were being kidnapped belonged to some sort of Deling City philanthropist society."

"Wait, what?" Squall asked.

 _How is this the first we've heard of something like this?_ Squall thought. _I thought Caraway and the Deling City police force had been looking into this for some time. This wasn't in any of our information packets._

"Deling City philanderers society?" Irvine asked.

Squall grabbed at his forehead.

"Philanthropist, not philanderer," Squall said. "People who give money to help out the less fortunate and..."

"Yea, I know! I'm just trying to make a joke. Lighten up," Irvine responded while pulling his feet off the coffee table and stomping them on the carpet while giving Squall a sour look.

Rinoa noticed that everybody was starting to get cranky with each other. They were probably getting hungry. It was already well past lunch time.

"Now that I'm done dusting," Rinoa said. "Why don't I make lunch for everybody?"

Squall was too busy thinking about the mission to pay much attention to what Rinoa had said. He just nodded over at her while concentrating on what Selphie was saying. Rinoa dashed into the kitchen to look around. The sounds of slamming cabinets and the clanking of pots and pans was heard soon after.

"Did the society have a specific name?" Squall asked Selphie.

"I don't think so," she responded. "But it sounds like most if not all the kidnapped women belonged to it. It sounded like those people seem to take turns hosting parties at either their homes or at hotel ballrooms to raise money for certain charities. Maybe that's where the kidnappers are getting the idea that they were wealthy enough to pay a high ransom. Maybe wearing all this jewelry while being out on the town isn't helping much at all. Maybe it's just this charitable society."

Squall seemed lost in thought.

 _Maybe she'd right. Maybe that's what has been happening. We're going to have to change our strategy again._

Rinoa popped her head back into the living room.

"Um, I found a package of raw chicken in the refrigerator. Do you want me to do something with that? I could maybe cook it and make a salad or something on the side," Rinoa said while Squall looked up at her.

 _Raw chicken. Rinoa. Zell. Food poisoning!_ Squall thought while connecting the dots in his brain.

"I'll do it for you!" he responded while standing up abruptly and dashing towards the kitchen.

* * *

Twenty minutes later they were all seated around the kitchen table eating plates of sandwiches that Squall had prepared. He didn't think it was wise to make anything elaborate for lunch, but he'd made more than enough for everybody. Sandwiches would do well enough for them. Rinoa had insisted on helping, and her contribution had been washing off several pieces of fruit for everybody and pouring them tall glasses of iced tea or water. Although Selphie's incident with the Long Island Iced Tea had put her off iced tea for a while, if not forever.

"We should contact General Caraway, and update our mission progress," Squall said with a half eaten sandwich in his hand.

Rinoa instinctively wrinkled her nose at the mention of her father.

"Oh yea, he'll be able to help us out! Maybe he could set us up to get into that society or something," Selphie suggested while sipping her tall glass of water.

"Yes, we really need to get this mission wrapped up," Quistis said while taking a juicy bite out of a peach

Irvine just shrugged his shoulders while eating a sandwich. He really didn't care either way.

End of Chapter 11

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay, in case you are wondering. I've had the ending planned from the very beginning. I just have to figure out how to get them there smoothly. Please read and review. Reviews encourage me to keep writing.


	12. Chapter 12

Newlywed Game Chapter 12

The clinking sound of plates being stacked reverberated throughout the kitchen. Now that lunch was over, everybody started shuffling back into the living room to make themselves more comfortable. At least almost everybody. Rinoa stayed behind, and Squall was hesitant to leave her to herself.

"You made lunch, so I'll clean up," she said cheerily as she reached for another dirty plate.

"You really don't have to..." he said.

"I'm the maid, or housekeeper or whatever. It's my job," Rinoa interrupted.

"It isn't really your..."

"So where's the dishwasher?"

"There isn't one."

"I thought this was a fancy and luxurious apartment," Rinoa said.

"Sometimes people like living in older buildings because of the location and architectural style. When they remodel they don't always have enough space to put in every modern appliance and..."

"Okay, just show me where your dish tub is then," Rinoa said while interrupting Squall again.

"It's under the sink, and so is the dish soap."

"Okay," she said while reaching into the cabinet and pulling out the tub and soap.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Squall asked.

"No thanks, I can handle myself. I don't need you to instruct me for everything. Warm and soapy water, I got it," she said while waving her hand lightly in the air.

She continued to stack dishes and glasses near the sink, and Squall went to hover over her. Rinoa abruptly turned around while redoing her ponytail and glared at Squall.

"Seriously. I don't need your help. The people in the other room need you, I don't. Go over there and do your thing. I got it covered in the kitchen."

Rinoa turned to busy herself in the sink by turning the faucet on full blast. Hot steamy water began to fill the tub and she put in a squeeze of dish soap. Perfumed bubbles started to slosh around and fill up the tub. Squall walked up behind her silently as she swished her hand in the warm water.

"Thanks," he said softly into the back of her hair.

Rinoa jumped and knocked the top of her head into the bottom of his chin. His teeth clacked together noisily. She spun around to see Squall with his hand over his chin and a wide eyed expression.

"Oops! Sorry! You scared me! I thought you'd already gone into the other room," Rinoa said. "Wow, you're really good at sneaking up on people aren't you?" She rubbed at the top on her head. "Just go. I'll do this."

Squall just nodded at her and backed away feeling foolish. It was time to stop playing around and get back to work. Not that taking a few moments to speak to Rinoa was that much of a break. But he'd enjoyed it, so he felt slightly guilty. He'd leave her to do the clean up.

He walked over into the living room and went over to the coffee table. He looked up at his troops. They hadn't resumed their earlier positions. Selphie and Irvine had taken over the couch and were currently cuddled up together with their arms and legs intertwined. Quistis had taken one of the less comfortable side chairs. Squall decided he'd just stand while speaking.

"Unless there is any other information anybody would like to share, I'm going to call up and explain the situation to General Caraway and..."

The sound of a plate dropping and shattering was heard from the kitchen. Squall chose to pretend that he hadn't heard it. Muttered swear equivalents were heard from Rinoa in the kitchen.

"I'm going to ask about the Deling City philanthropist society," he finished.

"I don't have any other bits of information Walter," Selphie said while nuzzling Irvine's neck with her nose.

Irvine closed his eyes while Selphie continued to cuddle him in front of Squall and Quistis. He seemed immune to Squall's harsh glare. Most people were able to sense it even when their eyes were closed, but Irvine wasn't one of those people.

Squall cleared his throat, and Irvine peeked up at him.

"Do you have anything to add Butch?" Squall asked him.

"I sure don't," Irvine said while closing his eyes again.

Squall took a deep breath while dialing General Caraways's private line on his cell phone. He motioned for the others to be silent while he waited for somebody to answer the phone. It took a minute before the call connected.

"General Caraway," Squall said quietly. "I want to update you on our mission progress."

Squall was silent while Caraway spoke to him.

"Last night one of us discovered something about this case. Due to some unfortunate circumstances she found herself in jail and..."

Caraway must have interrupted Squall's explanation.

 _I guess that's where Rinoa learned to interrupt,_ Squall thought.

"Yes well, it was a misunderstanding, and I'm asking you to get her record expunged."

Caraway's raised voice was able to be heard by the others in the room, although they couldn't hear exactly what he was saying. Squall pulled the phone from his ear while the General spoke loudly.

"The arrest was made for a person by the name of Cassidy Pine," Squall said. "Cassidy Pine," he repeated slowly. "Yes, Cassidy overheard some people talking in the lock up about the case. They said that they'd heard nearly all the kidnapped women were part of a philanthropist society in Deling City. Could you ask the Deling City police force to verify that? If that is true, we are going to need help involving ourselves in that charitable organization."

General Caraway started speaking.

"Yes sir, I understand. I'll wait to hear back from you."

The call ended. Squall put his phone down on the coffee table and took a deep breath. He didn't realize how tense he was until the call was over. General Caraway was a formidable man, and it didn't help that Squall was dating his rebellious runaway daughter.

 _Don't feel guilty about being with Rinoa. It isn't your fault that she ran away from home. It's Caraway's fault. He's probably a bad father. He probably told her to do one thing, and then she did the exact opposite. Just like what she does to you..._

"Walter?" Quistis asked softly again. He hadn't heard the first time. She was used to Squall getting lost in his thoughts. It was a trait of his that he'd had since they were children. She would have a better chance of quickly getting his attention by throwing something at him. He had excellent reflexes. But that would have been unprofessional.

Squall snapped his head up and looked over at Quistis.

"Yes, well, Caraway got our information. He'll get back to us."

 _Now what do we do?_ Squall thought to himself.

"I wonder what type of charities the philanthropist society helps with its parties?" Selphie said while shifting her position fully onto Irvine's lap. "Are we going to get to dress up and drink wine? That sounds so exciting!" Selphie said.

"You like any excuse to go to a party. Maintain your focus," Quistis replied with her arms tightly crossed while looking at Selphie and Irvine cuddled up on her couch.

"Maybe that doesn't sound like extra fun to you because you've been dressing up and drinking wine every day," Selphie retorted with a smug smile.

Quistis bristled at Selphie's accusation.

"And about maintaining my focus, I'm the only one here that has actually gotten any good information for this particular mission," Selphie said.

"That was pure dumb luck! A complete accident," Quistis said. She didn't like the fact that she hadn't been the one to gather important information, especially as she felt that she was a hundred times more professional than Selphie.

"I put myself out there on the line for us all! I was doing my job!" Selphie said while sitting up abruptly in Irvine's lap. Irvine winced noticeably and tried to discreetly adjust Selphie so she wouldn't hurt anything dearly important to him. He edged her completely off him and back onto the couch.

"Yeah, your job. You sure were doing a 'job' weren't you," Quistis huffed under her breath.

"You're just jealous! Not that being jealous of another woman is anything new to you," Selphie said to Quistis while looking up towards Squall for back up.

Squall didn't know much about women, but he knew he should stay out of this argument. Nothing good could come out of getting in between Selphie and Quistis. Irvine could use his charms to calm them down, or not. Either way, Squall wanted to get out of the living room.

"I'm going to go check on Angelina," Squall said while quickly leaving the squabbling SeeDs behind him.

When Squall walked into the kitchen he saw that Rinoa was just finishing cleaning up after their lunch. A few stray bubbles were floating through the air. Rinoa was rinsing her hands under a stream of water before drying them on a dish towel. She turned around and looked over at Squall.

"I did it. I'm done. I didn't need any help. Well... but I may have broken one of your plates..."

"It's fine," he replied.

"Sorry about that, but I think I got it all cleaned up off the floor," she said.

Squall walked towards her. He took a step and winced slightly. Apparently Rinoa hadn't found all of the shards. Although he tried to hide the look on his face, she saw his discomfort.

"Oh no! Did you find more pieces of the plate just now?" she asked.

"..." Squall non-answered her.

"You know, if you just wore shoes inside your home, you wouldn't have this problem," she said.

Squall sighed.

 _If you didn't break my dishes, I wouldn't have this problem either,_ he thought to himself.

Rinoa went and pushed him towards a kitchen chair. She was having fun playing house, and now she was going to mother him.

"Just sit down and let me see. I can't have you walking around with that. You think you're a big tough guy, don't you? You'd probably just ignore it until it wedged into your skin and then got infected or something."

Squall glared at her while listening to her unappealing and highly inaccurate accusations towards his common sense and hygiene.

Squall submitted to being fussed over by Rinoa as she kneeled down to inspect the bottom of his foot. It was weird and slightly embarrassing, but he figured it'd be over faster if he went along with what she wanted.

Rinoa examined the bottom of his sock, and noticed a little pottery shard. It was such a small sliver that it had been easy for her to miss as she'd cleaned up the floor. It looked tiny, but sometimes tiny things could be very irritating. It was best to get rid of it. She reached out and pulled it off before disposing of it in the trash.

"See that wasn't so bad was it? You big baby," she muttered under her breath.

 _I wasn't complaining!_ he thought to himself.

Rinoa walked back to the kitchen table and took a seat in the chair next to Squall's.

"So how's the mission talk going?" she inquired slowly. "I couldn't help but hear what you were saying in the living room. It sounded like you were talking to um... you know... Caraway."

Squall took a deep breath before turning towards her to answer.

"Did my phone call with Caraway upset you so much that you started throwing my dishes on the floor in a rage, or was that merely due to your natural clumsiness?" Squall replied with a wry half smile while looking into her big brown eyes.

Rinoa gasped slightly at his rude version of flirting.

"Hey! You better watch it you big mean jerk!" she said with a smile while she reached out to whack him on his upper arm.

He easily avoided her playful hitting, and grabbed her wrist carefully. He put her hand down flat on the table and reverted back to his resting business face.

"Seriously, you should go back to Zell now. You've stayed here an adequate amount of time. You're not needed here any longer to keep up the impression of being our maid. Thank you for playing along."

 _Although this was your fault to begin with,_ he decided to keep to himself.

Rinoa pouted at him. Things were just starting to get interesting. She wanted to stick around longer.

"Stop at a store on the way back and pick up some things for him," Squall said.

"Things? Him?"

"Yes, you said Zell had mild food poisoning."

"Oh yea, I forgot about that."

 _Oh, Squall's back to business again. I was having fun playing around with him!_ Rinoa thought with irritation.

"He needs to be able to concentrate on doing his job. Get him crackers, ginger ale, sports drinks, or whatever else you think he'd need."

 _And don't food poison him again,_ Squall thought to himself.

Rinoa looked downcast at the mention of her making Zell sick. She already felt bad enough about showing up in Deling City unannounced, crashing their mission, and then breaking their dishes. Although in the grand scheme of things, breaking dishes wasn't that big of a problem. She still felt bad though.

Squall noticed that she was feeling down about the mention of Zell. He thought he should say something to cheer her up, but he didn't know what. He reached out and patted her on the shoulder awkwardly. Rinoa took that small sign of affection as encouragement and buried her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around him with an alarming amount of clinginess. The kitchen chair she was sitting in creaked and tilted dangerously forward.

"I'll take good care of him! Don't worry!" she said before pulling away plopping her chair back down on its four legs. She gave him a small smile. "You're right, I should head back and check on him. He's had enough time to be alone, he's probably over the worst."

She jumped up and spun around before taking off her apron. She threw it hastily over the back of one of the kitchen chairs while she was readying to leave. It dangled there for a moment before slipping down towards the floor in a heap. She looked towards Squall and almost gave him another sudden hug, but decided against it.

"Okay, I'll see you around then... Walter," she said with a wink.

"Bye... Angelina," Squall replied with slow curiosity while standing up. He wasn't sure what else she was going to do. She might jump on him again, spin around and kiss him in front of everybody. Or she might...

Squall's pondering on what form Rinoa's affections were going to take were cut short as she spun around to leave abruptly. She marched past everybody in the living room as Squall hurried to follow her to the door.

"I'll see you guys later!" she called while walking towards the door where she'd left her shoes. She began slipping into them.

Squall found himself wishing that the others weren't around. It was nice to see her, and it would have been nice if she could stay. Somehow she relaxed him while irritating him at the same time. Too bad she wasn't a SeeD, than she would be properly trained and could go on missions with him all the time. Squall was surprised by his sudden selfish thought.

 _That wouldn't be a good life for her. That's not an optimal life for most people._

He only had time to wave at her before she disappeared through the door. Once she was gone, he turned his attention back towards Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis. They were still arguing with one another in the living room.

Squall grabbed at his forehead and sighed. It was back to business again.

* * *

"I'm home!" Rinoa called while walking into Zell's apartment with her hands laden with grocery bags.

Zell was slumped on his mattress with his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked drained, but better than the last time Rinoa had seen him. At least he wasn't locked in the bathroom. Poor Zell. This mission wasn't going well for him. First loneliness and then illness.

"I brought you some nice things to eat," Rinoa said sweetly.

At the mention of Rinoa feeding him, Zell grimaced.

"It's okay. These are prepackaged. You'll be fine," she said guiltily. "I won't ever do that to you again. I promise."

She pulled out a 6 pack of ginger ale and handed Zell a cold can. Then she pulled out a box of plain crackers.

"Why don't you try these, and tell me how you're feeling," she said. "I also got you some sports drinks if you'd like. I bought some cans of chicken noodle soup too."

Zell's tired face brightened at the prospect of having somebody fuss over him when he was feeling ill. It would just be like how Ma Dincht cared for him when he was younger.

 _Although Ma wouldn't have ever food poisoned me in the first place,_ he thought to himself.

Zell reached out and took the can of ginger ale from Rinoa and popped it open. He took a tentative sip. It seemed okay. He took a larger swig and smiled. The ginger would help settle his stomach.

"I'll take some of those crackers," he said while snatching them out of her hand. He ripped open the package and started to munch on them, spilling crumbs down the front of his shirt.

"I know you've been... busy," Rinoa said. "So maybe you weren't able to see what was going on through the surveillance feeds."

"You bet I wasn't able to!" he said while shaking his fist angrily into the air.

Rinoa flinched a bit.

"So I'll just fill you in on what's going on with everybody," she said while taking a seat near Zell on the mattress. Angelo jumped up next to them and laid her head across Rinoa's lap.

Zell nodded at her while continuing to nibble at crackers and sip ginger ale.

"I took a walk... and I ended up bumping into Squall and..."

"Aaaaaw, Rin?!" Zell said with a mouth full of crackers spraying into the air.

"Yea, I know! I shouldn't have done that... again..."

"Can't you leave that guy alone for two seconds? I mean, you're acting like you're a junior high school girl with her first boyfriend. Didn't you already date Seifer and who knows how many other guys?! I mean, if you'd date Seifer..."

"Hey! What are you implying?" Rinoa replied with her brows furrowed in irritation. "I didn't date a lot of other guys, and Seifer didn't really count. So it's pretty much Squall. Yea, let's just say it's just Squall. I've pretty much only dated Squall. SO SHUT UP!" she said defensively.

"Okay, fine. Sorry. I don't want to talk about Seifer 'Lap Dog' Almasy anyways. EVER!" he said while stuffing more crackers in his mouth.

Rinoa took a deep breath and pulled her hair down out of her ponytail and flipped her dark locks over her shoulders nervously.

"Zell, just calm down and let me finish. I didn't get to the important part yet. After I bumped into Squall, we ran into his neighbor and then one thing led to another." She waved her arm in the air. "And now I have to pretend to be their maid."

"WHAT THE FRICK?!" Zell yelled in disbelief while coughing. Eating dry crackers wasn't a good idea for this conversation.

"Oh, and my fake name is Angelina," she said while giving Angelo a good pat on the head.

"How'd I miss all this stuff while I was in the bathroom?!"

"Oh, and Selphie... I mean, Cassidy was arrested for prostitution last night. Did I forget to mention that?"

"The hell?" Zell said while choking on a cracker.

"Didn't you noticed her tracker spending a lot of time near the police station last night?" Rinoa asked.

"Both she and Quistis were all around town last night. It seemed to go along with what their plans were. They were going around by themselves on purpose. And did you say PROSTITUTION?" Zell yelled.

"Well, it was a misunderstanding! Don't worry! She wasn't actually having sex for money! And it helped the mission."

"How's that supposed to help anybody!"

"She found out some information while in jail. Nearly all the kidnapped ladies belong to a philanthropist society. We're working on that now with Caraway."

"WE?"

"Yea, we're going to get some information, and then they'll work their way into that society and try to get kidnapped."

"Uh, Okay?" Zell asked with a look of pure confusion on his face.

"Zell, you're going to need to do a better job at surveillance for this mission. I mean look at all this high tech equipment in here," Rinoa said while pointing to his computer set up. "What have you been doing? You can't only be relying on me for information," Rinoa said seriously.

Zell's face turned red as he tried to hold in his rage. He thought he was doing a pretty good job at managing his anger. He merely sat there while shaking and clenching his fists. It wasn't worth wasting his breath on WHY he hadn't been able to do his job lately.

* * *

Squall's phone rang and he was ready for it. He snatched it and answered the call before it had a chance to ring again.

"Yes sir, I understand. Thank you for that information. I'll wait for it to be sent to my email," Squall said before hanging up.

Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis looked up at him expectantly.

"Let's look everything over and formulate a plan," he said.

 _You know, ANOTHER plan_ , he thought sarcastically to himself.

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

(Disclaimer: I've been having trouble writing this chapter. Oh, and I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters, but you guys already knew that. This is just for fun. SILLY FUN!)

Newlywed Game - Chapter 13

Squall's eyes started scanning the email General Caraway had just sent him. It contained a spreadsheet of the names and addresses of the people associated with the Deling City Philanthropist Society, including both its current and past members. He needed to concentrate and start formulating a plan. The mission needed to be over, and fast. Things had been dragging on for far too long, and it was going to end up being an unprofessional embarrassment for Garden if it didn't get solved soon.

A warm huff of breath tickled the back of Squall's neck and he suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic. His chair pushed back with a grating squeak as he straightened his back and shook out his hair. Selphie and Quistis jumped backwards from where they were previously hovering over Squall's shoulders trying to read the email along with him.

"You're both eager to read the email? Fine. Ladies first," he said sarcastically while standing up and walking over to the doorway to the kitchen while crossing his arms. Selphie and Quistis wasted no time in drawing up chairs to the kitchen table and trying to read the email together quickly. Their shoulders were pushed together and their heads bent forward while absorbing the material. Quistis adjusted her glasses and sighed.

 _I can wait a few minutes,_ Squall thought while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Butch," Squall said into the living room.

"S'up?" Irvine replied.

"You might want to stop laying around on the couch and get over here to read the email," Squall said in a tone that did not sound like a suggestion.

"Oh no, after y'all first," Irvine said courteously from where he was reclined on the soft and cushy living room couch. "I'll get to it in a few minutes."

 _At least he isn't breathing down my neck,_ Squall thought.

Squall decided on giving up on Irvine, and returned his focus to the kitchen table where his laptop sat. Selphie and Quistis would be done soon, and then he'd review the material.

"Watch your boney elbows!" Quistis snapped at Selphie.

"I'm finished!" Selphie said with her arms lifted up in the air.

"I'd be finished already too if you hadn't been elbowing me," Quistis muttered while trying to finish reading.

"Do you want my seat?" Selphie asked Squall while standing up.

He raised his hand up to her silently. He'd wait his turn. Quistis would be done any moment now.

Quistis drew a breath and stood up while motioning towards Squall to resume his reading. Squall took his cue, and walked back towards the table. He reseated himself and finished scanning the email from General Caraway, filing away the important information in his mind.

'The next meeting of the society will be on... Since I am a prominent figure in Deling City, I am a member of many societies and organizations... My secretary has informed me that I am an official member of this organization... Although I don't specifically recall... Being a member, I can nominate your group for entrance into the society... I'm going to offer to host the next charitable event at the Caraway Mansion. Make sure to show up to the event prepared to... Attached are the details of the...'

Squall finished skimming the email for important information.

 _Caraway is a member? I guess he's connected to most things in Deling City. Somebody of his stature must have to make appearances everywhere... I guess._

"Okay, this changes things. Now that we know that the victims were connected through this society," Squall started to say.

"Thanks to me," Selphie said while pumping her fists in the air.

"We have to make ourselves visible at the next charitable event," Squall continued while ignoring Selphie's interruption. "So we'll have to do what we have mostly already been doing, but in a different setting. Understand?"

 _Minus Selphie getting arrested for prostitution, and Quistis fighting with a robber,_ he thought.

"Got it," Irvine called from the other room.

"This sounds like fun!" Selphie said while hopping from foot to foot with her hands tightly clenched. "I bet I'll be the one to get nabbed! I'm totally already on a roll! I get to go to a big party and then trick some kidnappers and then BOOM! Woo hoo!"

"We'll see about that," Quistis said with her arms crossed, her competitive spirit was firing up.

 _I'm on Team Squall and there is no way I'm going to lose to Team Irvine,_ Quistis thought. _Wait a second, I mean Team Quistis. The women are the main focus on this particular mission. We shouldn't have to take a back seat to the men, even if one of them is the Commander and..._

"It doesn't matter WHICH one of you gets kidnapped," Squall said wearily. "We are all on the same team. The ONLY thing that matters is finding and apprehending the culprits. Then we'll be done and can go home."

"I agree," Irvine called out trying to be a peacemaker. "Home sweet home," he said in a sing-song twang. "Where the buffalo roam..." he started singing in earnest, making up lyrics as he went. "And the Blood Soul and Belhelmel play..."

Being in close quarters with everybody was starting to make Squall feel like he was going to go crazy. He missed his place back at Balamb Garden, especially since he didn't have to share it with any of his fellow SeeDs. He grabbed at his forehead and sighed.

* * *

The next day Rinoa was laying flat on her back on Zell's mattress feeling bored to tears while Angelo snuggled into her side. The air smelled fresh and sweet because a summer storm passed through the area last night, and it caused a much needed break from the summer heat. Zell was sitting up and staring at a surveillance screen in a similar state of boredom, the only difference was that Zell was trained for situations like this. He accepted them. Being a SeeD wasn't always action and adventure, there were times where they had to be quiet and wait.

Rinoa fumbled with the ends of her dark hair looking for split ends.

 _When was the last time I had a hair cut?_ she wondered to herself. _I should ask Squall where people get their hair done at Garden. They must have a salon on premises that I haven't seen yet. Everybody has such fantastic hair! How'd that happen? Maybe it's some sort of side effect from too much GF usage._

Rinoa started to imagine a commercial for GFs, similar to a shampoo TV commercial.

 _GFs, they make you lose your memory, but why CARE when you can have fabulous HAIR?!_

Rinoa sighed at her goofy train of thought and rolled over onto her stomach. She bent her knees back so her feet dangled in the air. It was the position of a girl at a sleepover.

"Soooo... Zell..." she said while leaning her chin on the backs of her knuckles.

"Mmmhmmm," he responded while staring at the screens.

"What's the deal with you and Ami, the library girl?" Rinoa asked.

"Uh... Rin..." Zell said while starting to sweat and fidget. "That's kinda complicated because..."

Zell's stammering reply was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He dove at it so he could ignore Rinoa's prying questions.

"Hello?" Zell answered. He was silent for minute. "Okay. Yes. Okay. That's good. Thanks," he kept responding as he received a list of information.

"Is it Squall?" Rinoa whispered.

Rinoa pushed herself up onto her knees and tried to lean forward to listen in on Zell's call. She could barely make out the small tinny voice of Squall coming through the phone. Zell angled away in annoyance so he could keep listening to Squall's instructions. He had a job to do.

"That's a good plan. Thanks for the info. I'll stay in touch," Zell said before ending his call.

Rinoa now sat on the mattress with her legs drawn up under her chin. Her eyes were alight with anticipation of what Zell was going to say.

"So?" she asked slyly with her eyes half-lidded.

"They'll be patching in the feeds from the Caraway Mansion's surveillance footage straight to me for the night of the Deling City Philanthropist... um... charity... thing," Zell responded. "I asked them to do that, and Squall agreed, so that's what we're going to be doing and..."

"No, I meant, what about you and Ami?"

"Aw man Rinoa! I'm trying to do my job here!" Zell replied in irritation hoping she'd drop the subject.

"What type of girls do you like anyway?" Rinoa asked after a minute or two of silence.

Zell let out a huge breath. "Well... Ummm..." he stumbled.

"Ami is pretty cute and sweet," Rinoa continued. "She also seems to have some kind of infatuation with you. She thinks you're the best guy ever. I mean, I know you guys hang out a little. She likes you a lot, but do you like her? I mean, like LIKE her?"

"Uhhh?" Zell stammered. He didn't like the slumber party style questions Rinoa was asking him. Sure they'd been rooming together, but this was too much. "So anyways, Selphie and Quistis were thinking about trying to get some more information from her uh... street friends tomorrow night. It wouldn't hurt for them to try anyways, but other than that, we're just waiting around for the event to take place. Are you looking forward to getting back to Garden?"

Zell was thinking that asking Rinoa questions might get her to stop questioning him so much.

"Oh yea, I can't wait until everything gets back to normal. This has been so stressful."

 _It sure has,_ thought Zell.

"Yeah... I can't wait to get back to my little dorm room... in the guest quarters... far away from everybody... with nothing to do..." her voice started to trail off.

Zell started to feel bad for how he'd been irritated at Rinoa's clingy nosiness. She was just probably lonely. He'd grown up feeling loved and cared for by Ma Dincht, and although people referred to her as a princess, or in other cases, a brat, she had been a teen runaway. He would have been jealous of her growing up in the Caraway Mansion if he hadn't met General Caraway himself. His treatment of Rinoa was troubling to say the least from the brief interaction he'd seen between them right before the sorceress parade. He didn't know if all of Caraway's fatherly behavior warranted running away and joining a pathetic resistance group, but Zell knew that she could get in over her head with her emotions and recklessness.

 _I can't believe none of us fell off that frickin' speeding train!_ Zell thought to himself. _What kinda plan was that?!_

"Um, when we get back to Garden... Wanna maybe hang out sometimes?" Zell offered "I mean, maybe more than every once in a while?"

Rinoa sat up and looked over at Zell with a smile on her face. She felt like an outsider a lot of times, being included was wonderful.

"That would be great Zell!" she exclaimed. "We're extra close now that we've been roommates! Maybe we can still do slumber parties sometimes... Hee hee... that would drive Squall crazy!"

 _Aw man, does she ever stop thinking about Squall?!_ Zell thought with frustration while staring at a screen.

* * *

A few more hours passed uneventfully. The only thing of note was when Zell got a phone call. Rinoa tried to listen in on what he was saying, but it was difficult as she could only hear what Zell was saying.

"Okay, I understand. I'll be monitoring the situation," Zell said into the phone. "I don't expect anything to happen, but I'll be here in case it does. Thanks," he said while ending the call.

Zell sat back in his chair and sighed. Rinoa stood up and peered over his shoulder at the computer screens. It looked like Selphie and Quistis were going out for information hunting later in the evening. The entire group was getting bored by the lack of action they'd been experiencing. They were mostly just going through the usual motions and waiting to make their appearances at the charitable event that was coming up. If this current plan didn't work, maybe they'd be sent back to Balamb Garden. Mission failure. It didn't happen often, but it wasn't cheap to be employing this many SeeDs for an extended period of time.

Rinoa saw Selphie prancing through her living room with her little dog chasing behind her while Irvine laid on the couch. Her outfit was back to her usual sort of attire. The skirt was extremely short and eye catching. Selphie must have been feeling better after her run in with the law. She must also feel better about the whole 'prostitute' incident because it had ultimately helped out the mission. Plus tonight, Quistis would be with her. Being alone wasn't fun, as Rinoa knew well enough.

Angelo whimpered and Rinoa looked over to where her dog was laying on Zell's mattress.

"Angelo? Do you want some attention? Do you want a brushing? Brush brush?" Rinoa said in a high pitched voice.

She went over to her travel bag and pulled out Angelo's brush and went to kneel beside the bed. She put the brush down next to Angelo and took her dog's head in her hands.

"Good doggy! I'm gonna make you nice and pretty!"

Rinoa picked the brush up and pulled long strokes through Angelo's soft fur. The dog seemed to enjoy the attention and panted happily. It wasn't long before a pile of multi-colored dog fur accumulated. While Rinoa brushed Angelo, she turned and looked up at Zell's monitors and noticed that Quistis and Selphie were getting ready to leave their respective apartments. She envied that they had something to do tonight other than lay around a dirty apartment while playing Triple Triad with Zell.

Rinoa stood up and stretched out her back legs, and she had an idea pop into her head. It was an idea she'd had before.

"Hey Zell, I think I'm going to go out and get some fresh air. Maybe take Angelo for a walk."

"Didn't you just take Angelo for a walk an hour ago?" Zell asked.

"Yeah, but... I..." Rinoa stammered.

"Rin, I know what you're doing. Don't," Zell told her without even turning around.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said in a small voice.

Zell suddenly spun around in his chair and mimicked a high pitched lady's voice while clasping his hands in front of himself dramatically, "OH SQUALL! Quistis is out tonight, and you're going to be so lonely. I'll come over to keep you company." He finished his mock declaration with kissing noises and a fluttering of his blond eyelashes.

 _I don't sound like that,_ Rinoa thought with irritation.

"Well, even if I DID show up there, I'm supposed to be his maid or something! So it wouldn't be that strange!"

"Rin, please don't. You did a good enough job covering yourself before, but don't push your luck. The end of this mission is in sight, and we'll be done soon. Only a couple more days and this will be wrapped up. Let's just be glad for that and keep the endgame in mind, okay?" Zell said.

"Zell, I love you like a brother but..."

Zell winced internally at her words. Why did everybody treat him like he was some harmless wuss of a guy. His temper was starting to flare.

"...I don't appreciate being spoken to like that OR being told what to do. I'm an adult woman, and... and... you're kinda being a meanie, just a little bit," she said.

Zell stood up and walked over to her. They nearly were on eye level with one another. What Zell lacked in height he made up for in width. His large muscular frame made him seem massive compared to Rinoa's petite body. He wanted to use his physical presence to persuade her. That was a trick he'd seen Seifer using on junior cadets, and it seemed to work for him. They were all afraid of the Disciplinary Committee.

Rinoa looked him right in the eyes. Her dark brown eyes met with his clear baby blues. She may have also been somewhat short, but she was never short on determination. She wouldn't back down, if anything it just bolstered her rebellious side. She took an even closer step towards him. Her breath huffed in his face.

"Thanks for your concern, overprotective-brother-Zell," she said sarcastically.

"No prob, Rin. What are brothers for?" he responded, matching her sarcasm. When she started to walk away he quickly reached out and gave her a tight bear hug, crushing the wind from her lungs. "I'm just here to protect my sister!"

Rinoa responded by returning his bear hug and trying to crush his muscular torso with her thin arms. It wasn't doing much good, but she hoped he understood her annoyance with him.

"Thanks BROTHER, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" Rinoa hissed into his ear.

 _Aw man! What the frick am I doing here? Am I really gonna wrestle with Rinoa all night?_ Zell thought to himself. _I guess I could physically force her to stay here... BUT THAT'S CRAZY!_

Zell immediately was embarrassed by his show of force and released Rinoa from his grip. He backed away with a blush spreading across his face. The mottled red skin showed up against the sharp black of his facial tattoo in an ugly way. He waved his hand out at her lightly.

"Okay, well have a nice walk then," he said with defeat. "Whatever." He turned to walk back towards the seat at the computer desk.

 _Aaaah! I sound like Squall now,_ Zell thought.

"Just remember that I have surveillance cameras up in the apartments," he muttered while Rinoa stormed out. The door slammed behind her.

Zell looked back and saw that she hadn't even pretended to take Angelo with her. The dog was looking at the shut door with sadness in her eyes. Zell looked over to his mattress and saw that Rinoa had just left a huge ball of dog hair on the bed, along with the dog brush.

"UGH, Rin! That's gross!" he yelled to nobody while messing up his spiked blond hair.

* * *

Rinoa marched down the sidewalk. The cooling evening air settled on her skin and gave her the smallest of chills. It was still summertime, but it was getting to the point where it was no longer stiflingly hot every single day. Some days were still scorchers, but sometimes the evenings were pleasant and even a little bit cool. She drew a deep breath and tried to expel the bad feelings she'd experienced with Zell.

 _I feel bad fighting with Zell. I'll say I'm sorry later. I don't know what I got so worked up about. Maybe I have something like cabin fever. It's hard to live with somebody. You're always stepping on somebody's toes._

As Rinoa walked towards the nearest bus stop a small smile spread across her face.

 _I can't believe Zell bear hugged me! Was he gonna throw me down and wrestle me?_

The memory of Zell's muscular chest being pressed against her warmed her cheeks slightly, but she still wasn't scared of him. Not one bit.

 _He's like a big cuddly teddy bear. An angry teddy bear,_ she thought while a laugh escaped her lips.

No matter how many monsters Zell had mangled with his bare hands, no matter how many G-soldiers he'd beaten, no matter what he was physically capable of, Rinoa still saw Zell as being harmless and completely non-threatening. It wasn't logical, but it was her viewpoint, one she never even thought to correct. She really did think of him as being a brother, and maybe even like a sister in some ways. Zell would have been furious if he'd known that. Rinoa had been thoroughly enjoying the girly style sleepover that they'd been having since she'd crashed their mission. Even if Zell wasn't girly at all.

A bus arrived and Rinoa barely stepped inside before the bus started to move again. She was nearly rocked to her knees, but she steadied herself quickly. All the training she'd been doing with Squall had greatly increased her strength, flexibility, and balance, but she was nowhere near the level of her SeeD friends. Maybe she never would be, but she had her own special strengths as well.

It wasn't long before she arrived in Squall's neighborhood, and she hoped off the bus. She walked up towards his building, which had already become a familiar place for her. The stone lions that flanked the porch were a welcome sight.

 _I don't think I'll ever see a lion without thinking of Squall. Hee hee, maybe I should take him to the Deling City Zoo someday,_ she thought with a light heart.

Her footsteps made light pounding noises on the stone stairs that led up to the front doors. Once she was inside the inner doors, she buzzed the number for Squall's apartment. A few moments later, a light electronic buzz popped through the speaker next to her.

"Who is it?" came a scratchy and tinny voice.

"Angelina," she answered.

Rinoa heard a loud sigh before she was being buzzed into the lobby. She took a sprint towards the elevators and dove inside. She was pleased to not run into a single soul. She didn't want to have to make up another story about cleaning apartments. The elevator made a dinging noise as she arrived at the fifth floor and she walked out onto the hallway carpet.

 _Okay, which door was it? What was the exact unit number again?_

Rinoa's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a door start to creak open. There was nowhere to hide so she braced herself. She held her breath while hoping it wouldn't be anybody chatty. Luckily Rinoa only saw Squall's head pop through the slightly opened door.

 _Oh it's just Squall, and he certainly isn't chatty at all._

He silently flicked his head for her to come closer. She walked slowly towards him and he narrowed his eyes at her, silently pleading for her to hurry up before anybody saw them together again. Rinoa would love to tease him, but she figured she'd caused enough trouble. She skipped down the hallway as Squall opened the door wide for her. As soon as she was inside, he quickly and silently closed and locked it.

Squall turned around and looked down at her while crossing his arms. She beamed up at him with excitement. The mission was almost over, they'd be going back to Balamb soon, and now she had a free evening with Squall. It was great.

"I think you should go home," he said.

"What?! I just got here!" she exploded.

He gave her a glare to be quieter.

"You shouldn't be here now, so leave."

"Well, if I leave right away, won't that be even weirder? I mean, I didn't run into anybody in the hallway, but that doesn't mean nobody SAW me come here," she countered.

Squall took a deep breath while looking at the floor. He ran his fingers through his hair before speaking.

"Fine," he answered while standing there, doing nothing, offering nothing, just looking at a small patch on the floor.

Rinoa looked down at the clean and glossy wood floor. She didn't see anything interesting. Were they just going to stand around in silence?

"Uh, so what were you planning on doing tonight since you are alone?" she asked while slipping her shoes off.

"Was alone," he corrected.

"Oh, um, yeah."

"I didn't have anything specific to do, so I was cleaning up. I wish I could get some exercise other than just doing sit-ups and push-ups," he said while flexing his fingertips.

"Cleaning?" Didn't I just do that the other day?"

Squall didn't answer and walked back to where the bucket of cleaning supplies was laying on the floor. He started to rummage through the contents and took out a bottle of spray wood cleaner. Rinoa noticed a microfiber mop propped up near the couch. Squall took the bottle and sprayed near the entryway and began buffing it into the floor with the mop. Rinoa didn't want to be in the way, so she sat down on the plush couch and tucked her feet up. Squall continued buffing the floor energetically. The floor was somehow even shinier that it had been when Rinoa first entered the apartment. Squall kept at it. The apartment was filling with a chemically fresh scent from the cleaner.

"Uh, are you okay?" Rinoa asked while reclining on the couch.

"I'm fine," he said quietly while continuing to clean with his back turned towards Rinoa.

He then went over and took a feather duster and started dusting already clean surfaces. Rinoa's eyes tracked him throughout the apartment. Squall was uptight and methodical, but this was kind of ridiculous.

 _Maybe this is just how he handles stress? It's not like he can even go to the Training Center and beat up a bunch of Grats,_ Rinoa thought to herself.

She made herself more comfortable on the couch. It was soft and upholstered, a stark contrast to Squall's black leather office couch.

 _I miss that couch. It was a great place for a nap._

Rinoa yawned.

 _But this isn't too bad either,_ she thought while settling into its softness. _I miss hanging out and talking with Squall in his office while he works, not that he talked to me much then either._

She closed her eyes and listened to the near silence that was in the apartment. The refrigerator quietly hummed and Squall almost did too as he was dusting. The quiet contentment of being where she wanted to be relaxed her tense muscles. Rinoa was the sort of person who could nap anywhere. She was a champion nap taker, so it wasn't long before she floated off into sleep. Time passed.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she felt something brush against her hair. She didn't want to wake up, it wasn't time to get up yet.

"Noooo," she whined sleepily while slapping out at whatever was bothering her.

A short huff of breath and a tongue click made her open her eyes abruptly. Squall was hovering over her and peering into her sleepy face. Her eyes were still bleary from sleep.

"Nooo, I don't want to get up and go to bed. Just let me sleep here. I'll lock your office on my way out," she said.

Squall straightened his back from the crouching position he was in. Rinoa was always unbelievable. He ran his fingers through his still damp hair and smiled to himself.

"You're not in my office," he stated while reaching out to touch her dark hair again.

She reflexively reached out and swatted at his hand. She made connection with him and the loud slapping sound brought her back to her senses. She sat up quickly and Squall pulled back just in time so that his skull didn't get cracked by hers.

"Oh wait, I remember now," she groaned. She slowly pulled herself up while rubbing at her eyes. Her legs pushed off the couch and swung over the side to make room for Squall. He got up and sat down next to her while she tried to wake up.

"Did you just shower? You smell great. Orangey bodywash? Mmm, delicious oranges," she mumbled.

"Yea, I just showered while you were sleeping, but I don't smell like oranges. You're smelling the floor cleaner, and I don't know if it's delicious or not. It seems pretty poisonous, so I haven't tried it, and I suggest you don't try it either," he deadpanned.

Now that Rinoa's vision had cleared she looked over at Squall and noticed that he was still damp from the shower and was wearing gray loungewear. He looked really comfortable, and, if it was anybody but Squall, lazy. She looked down at herself to see the outfit she'd picked out in the morning. A black tank top and a jean skirt. Although it was the most basic of summer outfits, somehow she felt overdressed at the moment.

"Soooo... you wouldn't happen to have any REAL oranges around here would you?" she asked.

He flipped his damp hair back off his forehead while rolling his eyes.

"Why, are you hungry?"

"No," she said while getting up and walking over to the kitchen, "not really. Not that ever stopped me from snacking before."

Squall got up and walked over to the kitchen. Rinoa flipped on the light and walked towards the refrigerator. He just watched her while leaning against the door frame.

"Unnecessary nighttime snacking leads to weight gain," he stated as if from a SeeD manual. Although maybe that piece of information was really in a SeeD manual. They had to stay in top physical condition to do their job.

"What, you think an orange is going to make me fat?" she countered.

"I'm betting you're not going to settle for just an orange," he said with a smile.

"I just MIGHT!" she said. Although she shut the refrigerator door and walked over to the pantry. "But I am in the mood for something salty now that you mentioned it," she said.

"I didn't exactly mention..."

"Oooh, let's make popcorn!" she said with excitement while grabbing a microwave popcorn bag. She ripped the plastic off the bag before popping it into the microwave. Soon sounds of popping kernels filled the air along with the smell of hot buttery popcorn. Actually the smell was pretty artificial smelling, but Rinoa didn't mind. While waiting for the popcorn to finish she took advantage of some leftover white wine that was in the refrigerator and poured herself a glass.

"You shouldn't drink that, it's Quistis' wine. She'll notice," he said.

"Pfft," she responded while taking a sip. "You need to relax, and stop worrying about all the details so much."

When the microwave beeped she eagerly pulled out the steaming bag and tried to rip open the top.

"Be careful of the steam," Squall said.

"I'm fine. OUCH!" she said while shaking out her hand.

She'd managed to rip the bag sideways slightly and the popcorn was dangerously close to spilling out on the floor. Squall reached into the cupboard and pulled out an oversized bowl for the popcorn. He took the steaming bag of popcorn from her hand and ripped it open and carefully poured the popcorn into the bowl.

"Wow, how can you stand the heat?" she asked while pushing her dark hair behind her ears.

"I know you might not believe me, but after years of handling the hot afterburn of a gunblade strike on my hands, holding a bag of microwave popcorn isn't too bad," Squall said sarcastically while throwing a kernel of popcorn into his mouth. He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Oh yeah, I guess," she said with a red face while picking up her wine glass.

Rinoa grabbed the bowl of popcorn from Squall and marched back towards the living room couch. She plopped down on it and looked up at Squall to join her, which he did.

"So, how have you been holding up so far?" Rinoa asked while turning and stretching her legs out over Squall's lap. Her cheeks bulged out as she kept munching on the popcorn.

"It's been fine."

"Pfft, you don't look fine. I know you're particular about details, but spending your free time polishing up the floor is weird, even for you. Seriously, what's bothering you?"

Squall let out a huff of breath while flipping some of his hair off his forehead.

"I'm not sure that this mission is going to..."

"End?" Rinoa interrupted.

"...end successfully," he finished while frowning at her. "You interrupt a lot," he said. "Just like your father," he muttered under his breath.

Rinoa inhaled a piece of popcorn and started choking. After a fit of coughing, she finally got her breath back. She turned towards him with watery eyes.

"You can't compare me to him! I'm not like him at all! If one of us is like that man, it'd be YOU!" she said.

"I can't help some similarities because I was raised in a military setting, but I don't appreciate you saying that about me. It's... unsettling," he said. "Although it would make sense that you're like him, as he is your father."

"I'm not like him at all! I take after my mother!" she said angrily.

"Well, I think you have a streak of your father in you. In addition to interrupting people, you're also strong willed, determined, and... forceful..."

"Forceful!?" she said while putting the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table and climbing onto his lap. Her face was inches from his as she wrapped her arms around his neck forcefully.

"You're not proving me wrong right now, in case you didn't notice. Anyways, how do you figure you're like your mother? Do you even remember her that much?" he asked while she adjusted her weight fully onto his lap.

"Well, maybe I don't remember much about her. But I do look a lot like her so I figured that maybe my personality was similar too."

"I think there are some obvious errors in your reasoning. Although, now that I think about it. During one of Ellone 'connections' I did get a chance to see your mother, and maybe you are like her in some ways."

"Really, you got to see my mother? I bet she was so talented and sweet and pretty," Rinoa said with enthusiasm.

"Yes, pretty. Pretty straightforward. She cut right to the chase with Laguna and practically dragged him from the bar to her private hotel room to have a 'talk' with him. Although luckily enough, Laguna is a bumbling goof, and nothing actually happened. So don't worry, you aren't my half-sister," he finished.

Rinoa's eyes popped open as she stared at him. Her mind took a few moments to process what he'd just said.

"You're lying! None of that ever happened!"

"It's true. Apparently the Heartilly women are pretty pushy when it comes to getting what they want. So, in that respect, you are a lot like your mother," Squall said.

He looked up and saw the troubled expression in her face.

 _Haven't I told her this story before? I thought it was funny, but she's not laughing. She looks really surprised. Is she going to cry? I was just trying to tease her. I'm no good at this!_ Squall thought to himself.

"It's okay. Calm down. I was just joking. All of that was just a lie," he lied to her.

Rinoa relaxed a little, but she still looked unsettled by his story about her mother. Her ideas about her mother were vague but very idealized. Julia Heartilly had died in a car accident when Rinoa was a little girl, so she didn't have very many personal memories about her mother. But what she did remember was sweet and pretty, and she didn't want that picture of her mother marred by what she felt was malicious gossip. She remembered soft piano playing, comforting caresses, and sweet singing. She had felt so safe and happy when her mother was around. Everything else she knew about her mother was from her public music career, but she treasured her vague childhood memories the most. Those were just for her. She didn't want anything to threaten those memories.

 _Was my mother really that pushy with men? She wouldn't do that, would she? Although maybe that would explain while she married Caraway so quickly. Maybe if she had taken her time, she would have seen that he was a bad match and..._ Rinoa stopped her train of thought. It was bothering her.

Squall saw that she was still upset, so he scooped her up off his lap and resettled her near him on the couch. She had become quiet and he felt that he needed to fix the rift he'd caused, even if he had done it on accident. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed the side of his face to the top of her head awkwardly.

"I must look pretty upset, if you're trying to cuddle me," she said dejectedly.

Squall opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it wordlessly and furrowed his eyebrows. Rinoa sighed at him. He got tongue-tied so often. It was funny to see a man who was capable of so many thing flounder on something so basic as simple communication.

"And anyways, you're doing it wrong. This is how you cuddle," she said while smiling softly. She climbed right back into his lap.

"Mmmph," Squall huffed as she crawled over him.

Rinoa furrowed her brows and concentrated. Suddenly a tiny flame ignited a wick of a decorative candle that was on the coffee table.

"Mood lighting," she explained with her eyes half-lidded in an expression that she hoped looked sultry.

"Please don't burn the apartment building down," Squall said with concern.

She wrapped her arms around his neck again, but this time she did so without anger. She softly laid her head against his collarbone and stretched her legs out onto the couch.

"See, this is how you cuddle properly. Although it would be better if you wrapped your arms around me," she said.

Squall did so.

"I can't wait to get back to Balamb. I don't like having to sneak around to see you," she said.

"You shouldn't have been sneaking around in the first place," he said.

"Aren't you glad to see me?" she said while giving his collarbone a little kiss. "Even a tiny bit?"

"It's not that I'm not glad to see you, it's that..." Squall started when he heard footsteps coming from down the hallway. He stood up abruptly and Rinoa nearly rolled onto the floor. "Quistis is back! You should get out of here," he said. "There's a fire escape outside of the bedroom window. I'll stall her."

Rinoa looked up at Squall with disbelief. Did he really think she was going to go down a fire escape at night when there WASN'T a fire occurring.

The sounds of keys rattled at the door.

"Hurry," Squall whispered.

Rinoa grabbed her shoes and dashed into the bedroom and shut the door. She slipped into her shoes and walked over to the window.

 _He can't really expect me to do this, can he?_

Rinoa reached out and unlatched the window and silently slid it open. The breezy night air hit her in the face as she looked out the window into the darkness. She started getting second thoughts. The apartment was on the 5th floor. Maybe if it was the 2nd floor it wouldn't be so bad, but she was high off the ground.

She heard the muffled sounds Quistis speaking with Squall through the shut bedroom door.

"You're eating popcorn and drinking wine by candlelight?!" Quistis asked incredulously.

"I thought... I thought... I should take some 'me' time," Squall explained without conviction.

Rinoa winced at his pitiful explanation. Well, she wouldn't let his covering for her go to waste. She took a step out onto the fire escape. The metal slats under her feet let her see all the way down to the alley below.

"Don't think about falling," she told whispered to herself as she thought about falling. "This is what these stairs were built for... these rickety stairs were built for people to climb out of windows and get down onto the ground safely."

She took a few more steps on the wrought iron stairway.

"This isn't so bad. I'm doing it."

She continued to carefully creep down the metal stairs floor by floor until she reached the end of the line. There was a significant drop from the last step.

"Now what do I do?" she asked herself.

She looked over at the alley dumpster and thought that maybe she could jump onto the lid, and it wouldn't be that bad of a fall. She didn't have much choice. After taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she got ready to jump.

For a moment if felt like she was flying through the air and was going to make it, but she'd misjudged. She ended up slamming into the metal trashcans that littered the alleyway. Loud metallic thuds sounded throughout the alley as she crashed into them. She caught her breath after a minute and decided she wasn't too hurt. She'd definitely earned herself a few bruises, but it was nothing too bad. She could heal herself later at Zell's apartment when nobody was looking. She could wait. She stood up gingerly and brushed herself off. It was time to get back to Zell. She walked out of the alleyway and into the streetlight.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked, it was sickly sweet with fake concern.

 _Oh no, it's one of those annoying neighbors!_ Rinoa yelled in her head.

"What are you doing here?" the neighbor asked.

"I was just cleaning the apartment," Rinoa said. "Because I'm the maid," she explained.

"Weren't you just there a few days ago?" asked Courtney.

"Well, things get dirty fast... and..."

"I heard the trashcans fall over," the neighbor explained.

"That's because I was taking out the trash. You know, because I was just cleaning up... because I'm the maid."

"I also saw you on the fire escape. Why weren't you using the front door?" needled Courtney.

"I was... I was... dusting the fire escape?" Rinoa replied. "And then I kinda figured that I'd just let myself out that way... as long as I was already there."

 _This isn't going well._

Courtney continued to stare at how disheveled Rinoa looked. It's true that some of it was from her tumble off the fire escape and into the alley, but it probably wasn't all of the story. She was up to something.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again Corey," Rinoa said while edging away.

"COURT-NEY" she pronounced.

"Okay Courtney, I gotta go now. See you around," Rinoa called as she started to run towards the nearest bus stop.

 _Hopefully I won't see her around ever again,_ Rinoa thought while cursing her bad luck.

End of Chapter 13

* * *

Author's Notes: I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter! I hope I caught most of the typos, but there are probably a few still there. I have the climax of the entire story mapped out in my head, but I have to get there first. Although I've started writing some of the ending already. Oh, this story is so silly and awkward. I have another story I want to start writing, but I have to finish this one first. Please read and review. It encourages me to update frequently.


	14. Chapter 14

Newlywed Game Chapter 14 - Preparations

For Squall, it seemed that the evening of the charity gala would never arrive. The amount of pressure he'd been under the entire mission had increased tenfold. If this new plan didn't work, he truly didn't know what else to do. For the sake of the others, he'd been putting on a front of confidence that he did not feel. This mission objective was like finding a needle in a haystack. Why did he feel like taking it on in the first place?

He remembered that day when he'd been doing routine paperwork in his office with Rinoa sleeping on his couch. When he'd first gotten General Caraway's call, he'd been excited. The strange mission would be a brilliant relief to his everyday office drudgery or even his occasional Lunar Cry related monster hunting escapade.

 _Stupid,_ he chastised himself.

He would love to be back in his 'boring' office right now with Rinoa. Seeing her every day without needing an excuse was great. He'd taken her presence for granted and now he was missing it.

 _Sometimes peace and quiet can be confused with boredom,_ he thought in defense. _I'm used to seeing more action than a desk covered in paperwork._

He missed the luxury of having a clearly defined enemy and a goal. Monster hunting lacked intellectual stimulation, but it was something he was adept at. He didn't even need to think about it. His muscles were SeeD trained, and he reacted automatically. Acquire target. Eliminate target.

 _Maybe that's the problem with the mission, I'm thinking too much again. I'm not good at that. Every time I overthink something, nothing good comes of it. Maybe I'm just a meat head suited for the front lines,_ he thought with despair. _What were they thinking making me SeeD Commander?_

Squall was spiraling down in his thoughts. It was a usual pastime for him. That's why he didn't like idleness. His thoughts would swallow him whole. Countless memories of being curled up on his dorm bed assaulted him. He could defend himself against nearly anything, except himself. That's why he never stopped working. He was trying to outrun his thoughts and make sure he was as strong and capable as possible. It was a vicious cycle. The only thing that had ever alleviated this quirk of his was his relationship with Rinoa.

 _Rinoa._

He'd been standoffish with her the whole mission. Being gruff and only interacting with her when he had to do so.

 _She should have stayed at Garden._

 _But weren't you glad to see her?_ he countered himself.

 _That's not the point. She disobeyed direct orders. Orders that were for her own good!_

 _But she's not a SeeD,_ he answered himself. _She doesn't take your orders._

Squall sighed. The last time Rinoa had come by he pretended to not be happy to see her, but that wasn't entirely accurate. He missed her. Missed seeing her smile. Missed hearing her voice. He missed just having her near. It filled the parts of his mind that usually tormented him. Her presence calmed him. All his fears and self doubts, they didn't go away, but they became much more manageable when she was around. It was worth all the trouble she inevitably stirred up, but he couldn't admit to that.

Under ordinary circumstances he would have enjoyed having her stop by his apartment to spend a relaxed evening with him. But he wasn't under ordinary circumstances.

 _When have any of my life circumstances ever been ordinary?_ he thought sourly.

And now he hadn't seen her in days. He'd heard through Zell that she'd run into one of his nosy neighbors while climbing down the fire escape the other night. Rinoa's spirit was dauntless, but apparently that was enough to scare her away for awhile. Although he had seen her walking Angelo nearby the building, but he wished she'd make up an excuse for an actual visit. And he wished that if she did show up unannounced again that he wouldn't act annoyed. He knew he would though. Changes in personality don't happen overnight.

He smiled at the memory of her surprise and fear at climbing down the fire escape.

 _She's afraid of a fire escape, but running on top of a moving train was fine for her?_ He continued to smile. _But she was with us at the time. She can't do things well on her own._ He frowned.

Squall shook himself out of his thoughts when Quistis strode into the kitchen. He instinctively straightened his back while narrowing his eyes at his laptop. He focused on appearing busy doing research while she stuck her head into the fridge. Within a minute she'd poured herself a glass of juice and left the kitchen. Squall let out a sigh of relief once she was gone.

The kitchen had been his home base throughout the mission. Working on a laptop had been one of the few things he could do in the apartment that appeared productive. The other things he could do were simple exercises and cleaning. He'd already tested the limits of those two other things. If he did those any more, Quistis would say something. The place was immaculate, even by his personal standards. Garden would be getting their security deposit back from this rental, as if that were ever in any doubt. And for his exercise routine, well, his muscles were sore from all the military pushups, crunches, and squats he'd been doing. He had originally wondered if he would lose muscle mass on this mission, and it appeared that he'd gained some.

 _Although I wish I could flex my muscles in gunblade practice. I hope my technical skills haven't gotten rusty._

Squall sighed again. The downtime while waiting for Deling City Philanthropic Society to meet bothered him. He felt as if he were stuck in Time Compression again. Every day was alike and pointless. Minutes stretched out into a gray infinity of hopelessness. He felt emotionally collapsed inside.

 _Too bad this time Rinoa won't show up out of nowhere and save me._

Squall grit his teeth at comparing his current feelings with the trapped despair of Time Compression. The comparison was severely exaggerated, but it was what he felt like sometimes. The other members of his team were doing their part, but he felt that he hadn't concretely contributed to anything. He felt alone and useless and cut off from the others.

Even though Quistis and Selphie's night out had been a bust, at least they'd tried something. They had the intent of finding Selphie's street friends to see if they had any other bits of information, but they'd been unable to find them again. Selphie had been drunk the last time she'd come across them, and she hadn't figured out which street corner was their usual hang out. Maybe they moved around. Selphie and Quistis never found them again.

Squall looked down at his laptop screen and glared at some familiar faces. In order to bolster their backstory of joining the Deling City Philanthropist Society, Squall, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine had gotten their pictures in the society section of the Deling City local news website. They'd included a small group photo of the newly nominated members of the society. There also was a brief blurb about the charities that benefited from the society, along with a few photos of past events. It had been posted and printed several days ago, but Squall kept coming back to look at it.

Squall glanced past the description of the charities and focused on the photo of his troops. Selphie's giant smile beamed out at him beautifully. She looked like a beauty pageant contestant and her eyes gleamed like she'd won the lottery. In direct contrast to her excitement was the rest of them. There was a frazzled looking Irvine with his arm draped over Selphie. His long ponytail looked unkempt and his eyes looked sunken and dark. His smile had always seemed smarmy, but now it looked hollow like he was barely holding onto his sanity. Quistis looked prim and proper, but instead of her usual confidence, she looked pinched and tired. And himself? Squall looked at the photo of himself and cringed. He knew he'd always looked very mature for his age, but the photo made him look old and tired. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. His hair and face looked similar, maybe he even looked more polished, but something was missing. Not that anyone would describe him as lively before, but now it was like the life was drained out of him.

 _If this is how old I look now, what will I look like when I'm 35?_ he thought. _If I even make it to that age..._

Quistis walked back into the kitchen with dresses draped over her arm. Her footsteps had been so quiet, that Squall almost hadn't noticed her approach. She walked close to his side before talking.

"I'm picking out clothes for the night of the charity gala. What do you think of this dress?" she asked Squall.

Squall's dry eyes slowly turned towards the piece of fabric that Quistis was holding up in front of him. It was red.

"It's okay," Squall replied.

Quistis looked down at the short crimson colored dress before her. It would look nice against her skin color, but she wondered if it was too flashy. She wanted to stand out, but she didn't want to look whorish. At least not like a certain flipped-haired SeeD did recently.

She thrust out another dress for Squall's perusal.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked.

Squall looked up at the second dress Quistis had with her. It was also red.

"It's fine," he responded in a monotone voice.

Quistis looked down at the burgundy colored dress in her hand. It would also go well with her skin tone. Although the dress was short, she felt that it was tasteful. The color was also toned down. It would be eye catching, but not garish. The differences were subtle, but important.

 _Crimson or burgundy?_ she thought to herself. _Crimson or burgundy?_

"I think I'll wear this one," she said to Squall while holding up the burgundy dress. "Thanks for your help."

Squall gave Quistis a small nod as she left the kitchen with her two red dresses, that were in Squall's opinion, identical.

Squall breathed a sigh of relief as she left the room. He didn't specialize in women's fashion, or fashion in general. If he knew anything about how to dress, it was because Garden had drilled it into his head for practical purposes.

Squall's relief was short lived as Quistis soon came back into the kitchen wearing the burgundy dress and holding up two pairs of heels.

"Which pair should I wear?" she asked.

She took the pairs out one at a time and held them up in front of his face for him to see.

 _Why is she asking me?_

"Why don't you ask for Cassidy's opinion instead of mine?" he asked. Knowing that he didn't know or care about women's fashion.

"I respect your opinion..." she said.

Squall's spirit brightened at her declaration of respect for him, even if his outward expression didn't change.

"...and I don't want to end up looking like a streetwalker," she finished.

Squall's spirit fell, but he continued to look at the shoes. He wanted to give Quistis his honest and sincere opinion. One had high pencil thin heels, and the open nature of the shoe wouldn't protect her feet if there was any sort of scuffle. The other shoe had a much sturdier platform because the heels were lower and much wider. She'd be better off balancing in that pair.

"Those," he said while indicating with his finger which pair of shoes he thought was best.

"Are you sure?" she asked with a wavering voice.

"Yes."

"Because I thought that these ones would look a little better."

 _Then why did you ask me?_

"Don't you think these would look better?" she asked. "I definitely think these would look better," she said with more conviction. She didn't wait for his response, but slipped into the pencil thin black heels, buckled the delicate straps, and began to walk around the kitchen in them.

Her shoes clicked as she walked up and down the length of the kitchen. Click. Click. Click.

"But those other shoes would be better for balance and..." Squall said, undeterred in his opinion.

Click. Click. Click.

"I didn't ask which shoes would be the most comfortable," she said while an incredulous look on her face while stopping.

"No you didn't. You asked which pair of shoes you should wear. You never mentioned which looked the best."

 _Why am I arguing about shoes with Quistis? This mission has gone on for TOO LONG!_

"So which ones do you think LOOK the best?" she asked loudly.

He shrugged at her.

"Oh just forget it. Why don't you come into the bedroom and help me pick out some matching jewelry?" she asked.

Squall opened up his mouth to come up with an excuse for why he couldn't help her, but he quickly shut it when he saw her blonde eyebrow starting to twitch. He silently got up from the kitchen table and followed her into the bedroom with a slumped and tired posture hoping that all this would not be in vain.

* * *

Selphie pranced around the bedroom while Irvine pretended to chase after her. The late afternoon sun streamed in from their bedroom window warmly, giving the room a hazy yellow glow. Selphie was having her afternoon burst of energy, and this was one of the many games that Selphie would play in order gain Irvine's attention.

"Come and get ME!" she yelled while jumping up and over the bed with a bounce. The springs squeaked loudly and the wooden floor groaned. Her short floral dress briefly flipped up and flashed her pink moomba underpants at Irvine as she soared through the air. She landed across the room and turned to stare directly at Irvine. A huge grin lit up her face, she waited for Irvine to reciprocate her playful mood.

Although Irvine wasn't up for playing around in this way, he figured that it was easier to attempt to indulge Selphie's boundless enthusiasm for life than not. He twisted and turned slowly so he could jog around the other end of the bed to catch up to her. She quickly spun and ducked under his outstretched arms before spinning around and grabbing him from behind. She jerked him backwards and pulled him down onto the bed. The crash made the bed springs squeak under their combined weight.

Irvine went limp while her arms gripped him tightly. After a few moments of scrambling for position, she pushed him down while climbing on top of his chest.

"Oof," Irvine huffed as the wind got knocked out of him.

"Tee hee, I got YOU!" she giggled while leaning down and kissing the tip of his nose.

Irvine laid there like a lump, struggling to breathe. His arms were stretched over his head and half of his legs still dangled over the edge of the mattress. His hair was tangled in his face, and sunlight was hitting him directly in the eyes. It was not a comfortable position for him.

Irvine wasn't comfortable, but Selphie looked happy atop her perch. She continued to smile although Irvine was not actively participating in her enthusiastic and playful cuddle spree.

 _Doesn't he ever do ANYTHING?_ she thought to herself. It was irritating to be around somebody with such a lack of energy.

"Come on baby, don't you want to play with meeeee?" she pleaded with him, distraught with his lack of passion.

"I don't know about playin' with you. How about we just rest for a minute?" he sighed. "Just a minute to catch my breath. Just a sec to..."

His resting period did not last even that long as Selphie reached out and slapped him on the chest.

"Come on, you're acting like an old man. Where's your energy? Your vitality? Your zest for life?" she yelled while raising her fist in the air. "We're young and in love... aren't we?" she whispered with her brows furrowing and her eyes growing dewy with tears.

 _The only thing he always has endless energy for is flirting with other women,_ she thought.

"Are you... are you... tired of me already?" she asked with fear in her heart. She thought pretending to be newlyweds was great fun, but he'd been severely lacking in the enthusiasm department lately. And several other departments as well.

Irvine reached up and gently pushed her off himself so that he could sit up. He crept up the edge of the bed and took Selphie into his arms, settling her petite frame onto his lap.

"Now, why would you say that Cassie?" he asked.

 _Don't call me Cassie! I'm Selphie! I'm fighting with Irvine, not Butch!_

Selphie turned her head toward him quickly. Her hairstyle bounced over her shoulders. "Well, I see you staring at other women ALL the time when we're out. Sometimes I even catch you flirting with them RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!" she said.

 _And that's just for starters!_ she thought angrily.

"Aw honey, you don't need to worry about that. I'm just an admirer of women in general. It's my personality. Who I am. Women are like works of art, and I'm like an art historian. I'm merely appreciating what I see. It would be wasteful and uncultured for me to not take note. It's nothing to be bothered about. I'm just lookin', that's all, I swear," he promised.

"Well, that's not what Squall said about your night out at the bar," she whispered.

Irvine's eyebrows raised at her accusation. He didn't figure that Squall would rat out a fellow guy to his girlfriend. It was like the guy code. Did Squall even know about the code? Did Squall know anything about anything that wasn't SeeD related? Maybe not. But would Squall have done that, or even talked to Selphie when he wasn't around? He wasn't the gossiping type, actually he wasn't even the talking type.

Irvine tried to decide how to proceed with an angry Selphie in his lap. He had to do some damage control and sweet talking.

"It was just a little bit of flirting and dancing! Nothing to get worked up about. Well, she did ask me back to her place, but I didn't actually go through with it," he explained.

"WHAT!?" she yelled. "You actually have been doing stuff behind my back? I never actually talked with Squall about your night out! I was just testing you!"

 _Aw man, I can't believe let myself get tricked into confessing that,_ Irvine thought while running his hand through his bangs. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"I knew you were up to something! You're always up to something. When my back is turned. When I'm right in front of you. It doesn't even matter," she sniffled on the brink of tears.

Now Irvine might be described as a flirt, a skirt chaser, a womanizer, and a pervert, and to a reasonable degree those things were true, but he was more than that. He was also a gentlemen, at least by his own definition. He simply did not like seeing a lady cry. He had manners, it was part of his charm.

He reached out and brushed some of the tears off her cheeks while leaning to whisper softly into her hair.

"Don't cry now. It's alright. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I was just trying to help the mission is all. It was a role I was playing. Carefree rich guy at a bar with his friend. Gonna flirt with other women while I'm away from my wife. It's just the role. I'm sorry if I took it too far for your liking. Not my intent. Not one bit," he whispered.

That didn't sound like a heartfelt apology to Selphie, but she was always trying to put a positive spin on things.

 _He knows he hurt me, and he's trying to be better,_ she reasoned. _He's not a bad guy, not really. He just has a lot of little issues. They're not deal breakers necessarily. We all have our issues. I mean, just look at Squall! Although he wouldn't ever pull this crap on Rinoa... because Squall would never do stuff like that... and even if he did... Rinoa would fry him!_

Irvine continued to calmly caress her while her anger abated. She let herself be rocked, petted, and kissed by him. It was nice to be held in somebody's lap. Be somewhere. Belong somewhere with someone. Maybe she didn't deserve better. Maybe she didn't deserve complete loyalty. Maybe she didn't need it. She could take care of herself. She hadn't ever gotten complete loyalty anywhere before. Not from the Kramers. Not from her foster family. Not from anyone. This was reality, and this was the best she could get. She just needed to put a smile on and bear it. That was life. At least that was her life.

Selphie wrapped her arms and his neck and played with his long hair. He smiled softly at her when she started to respond to him. She was warming up. Melting in his arms. He was good at stuff like this. Garden raised girls were needy with an eager attitude to please. Even a lady as cold and capable as Quistis was still prey to the persistent feeling that she wasn't ever good enough. Garden girls put up with a lot of garbage, and they still thought everything was their fault and that they deserved it.

"I'm not mad," she said quietly. "Not really. Not much. Just a little teeny tiny bit," she whispered while scrunching her nose up at him.

"Good. You're feelin' better now sweetie?" he asked while rubbing her back. He leaned in for a quick kiss. She reciprocated tentatively.

"Yea, I am. Maybe I was overacting. Maybe," she said as she climbed out of his lap so that she could lay out on the bed. Irvine followed suite and joined her. He rolled over onto his side so he could look down at her face. She snuggled into his chest and started pecking him with kisses all over his collarbone. He hunched down so they were face to face.

"Hey, my lips are up here," he teased.

"Tee hee You're too tall for me," she said while continuing to kiss her way up to his lips.

"Aw naw, I think I'm just right," he responded while cupping her face in his hand. He leaned down low and started kissing her deeply. After a few heated minutes, Selphie pulled back to catch her breath before she started seeing stars. She had been feeling bad before, but now she was starting to perk up. She would force herself into believing that everything was going great. She was fine. He was fine. They were fine.

"Irvine," she whispered breathlessly while tangling her hand in his long hair. "I think I... I think... I think I lov..."

She was immediately cut off by Irvine sitting up abruptly in bed and saying, "Oh, I think we should pick out your dress for the charity ball. I don't think we've done that yet have we? Time flies when you're havin' fun. We shouldn't procrastinate any longer."

He hopped out of bed and went over to their closet with an energy Selphie didn't know he had. The hangers started rattling around as he dug through her clothes.

Selphie sat up in bed with a bewildered expression on her face. "Wait, I was just saying something! I was... I was..." she started, but then stopped and became quiet.

Her feelings were deeply hurt, but she wasn't surprised. Not by any of this. It was time to go into hyper happy mode again. She swept her feelings under the rug, and put on a big smile. She'd deal with her pent up feelings one day, but not today. On that day, the emotional explosion would burn with the white hot energy of a thousand suns, but right now, she just stuffed her bad feelings about her foster family, Trabia, and Irvine down so that she could put on her usual Selphie Tilmitt show again.

"Dresses!" she chirped while jumping out of bed. "That's sounds like fun! What a great idea! You're right, we've got to pick out what we're going to wear. Make me look pretty Butch! I wanna be the prettiest girl there. All eyes will be on me. I'm going to do such a great job. I'm going be the best!"

Irvine was catching on to her mood change, and he wanted to keep fueling it.

"Yea sweetie. You're the best! I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have a girl like you on my arm. Everybody is going to be jealous of us. Let's make them green with envy!" he said while holding up a short green dress.

Selphie frowned at the dress. It was the same dress she'd worn when she got arrested for prostitution. Couldn't he remember that?

"Um, how about a different dress?" she suggested while pointing towards a yellowish orange dress. "That one is bright and happy!"

He reached out and grabbed it for her. "Yea, bright and happy like my little ray of sunshine," he said while handing her the dress. "You're gonna sparkle and shine like a little firecracker," he said with a smirk.

"Yea, sparkle and shine," she repeated loudly. "Jealous, the best, green," she rambled quietly and incoherently while cringing to herself.

* * *

Zell bucked forward and tensed as he felt something crash into him. Rinoa's arms snaked tightly around his shoulders and gave him a friendly squeeze. He pulled his head back before he got his face smashed into his computer screen. When Rinoa released him, he turned around in his chair to see what was going on? His eyebrows raised at her sudden display of friendly affection.

 _Okay, where is this going?_ he thought.

"I feel kinda really bad about being mean to you the other day when I went out to visit Squall. So I want to show you that I'm sorry and I'm gonna try to make up for it," she said while beaming a smile at him.

"Okay..." Zell said quietly.

"I'm going to make you a nice hot meal. You don't have to help at all. You don't have to clean up either."

"Um, but..." Zell started, still uneasy from being food poisoned by Rinoa earlier in the mission.

She caught on to his apprehension and put her palms up in the air.

"Nope. No worries. None. There is nothing that will make you sick in the food. Nothing raw. Don't worry," she said while leaning forward and wagging her index finger at him. "I mean it probably isn't the healthiest meal, but it won't kill you. Well, I guess the cholesterol and preservatives could eventually kill you, but that would be in the far distant future. So don't worry about it," she said with a laugh. "I'm sure SeeD will kill you first!"

Rinoa was smiling and laughing, but Zell was uncomfortable at her last statement. It was meant as a joke, but it was truer than she knew. Best not to think about it. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his spiked blond hair. Rinoa just was trying to be nice. For better or worse, he should take her olive branch and hope it didn't food poison him when he ate it. He frowned at his bad analogy.

"Sure Rin, that sounds... great," he said with false confidence as his voice went unusually high pitched.

She smiled even wider and told him her meal plan. "I'm just going to make something simple. I don't have a lot of cooking experience, but I think it will turn out okay. I think you're gonna love it," she added in a sing-song voice before dashing off to the kitchenette.

Zell smiled at her exuberance, but worried anyways. It was nice to have her acknowledge his feelings and try to make amends, but he really didn't want any more problems. But he should trust his friends. But food poisoning. But friendship. He should just sit and stare at his computer screen and trust her. His boring computer screen with nothing on it. Friends trust friends. Yup, and he was a friend.

After a few moments Zell stood up and rushed over to see how Rinoa was doing. He didn't have to help her in the kitchen, but maybe she'd like some company.

* * *

After about a half hour and messing around in the kitchen, and a few messy pots and pans later, Zell and Rinoa seated themselves on the floor to indulge in a hot bowl of macaroni and cheese with chopped up hot dogs in it.

"See Zell! I told you that I would make you something you like!" she said with a smile.

Zell took a small spoonful and tasted it carefully. Boxed macaroni and cheese. Good. Hot dogs. Good. It was fine. It was good. He wasn't going to get sick. He'd supervised.

"Yum! I love it. Thanks for trying out your new skills on me," he said trying to encourage her.

Rinoa smiled and took a bite. It was food that a little kid might like, but then again, so might Zell. He seemed happy enough. She just wanted to make her friends happy.

"Yea, it's good," she said with a mouthful of macaroni.

Angelo trotted up to her and whined for a treat.

"No Angelo, this isn't good for you," Rinoa scolded and then paused in thought. "Well, actually this isn't good for me either, so why don't I just give you a tiny piece," Rinoa said while reaching into her bowl. She picked out a chunk of hot dog and tossed it into Angelo's mouth. Her dog munched at her treat happily and then settled down next to Rinoa in a state of contentment.

Zell continued to eat happily. He'd never had hot dogs in macaroni and cheese before. It was good. He should suggest this to the cafeteria workers. Hot dog macaroni and cheese casserole would be a great dish to warm the Balamb Garden students up on a cold night, or any night. There were a million culinary uses for hot dogs, at least in his opinion there were.

"Zell, are you looking forward to watching the charity ball tomorrow night? Is everything ready?" Rinoa asked.

"Oh yea, everything is set up. All I have to do is watch. It'll be boring, but less boring than usual," he explained.

"Do you actually think anything is going to happen? You can tell me the truth," Rinoa said.

Zell paused. He didn't want to say anything discouraging. Especially since the mission leader was his Commander. Not to mention Rinoa's boyfriend and knight. But he didn't want to lie either. He had to balance the truth with reality, but somehow make it tactful. He continued to think hard while chewing his food.

"Zell, I'm taking your silence as meaning you don't think this mission is going to turn out like we'd all hoped it would," Rinoa said.

Zell gripped his spoon and furrowed his brow before swallowing and speaking.

"Yea, I guess you could say that. I figure if something was going to happen, that it'd have happened already. I've lost hope, but don't tell the others that. Please."

"Oh, don't lose hope. When everything is at its worst, hope is all you have. Just keep hoping and working hard."

"Sure thing Rinoa. I'll do that," he said while trying to muster up some conviction. Zell thought that she might as well sprinkle pixie dust on them for all it was going to help, but he'd go along with her positive outlook.

"At the very least, if this doesn't work out soon, we'll probably get sent home again, right? I can't imagine this going on for too much longer. Although I can't imagine mission failure," she said.

"Yea, I don't want to talk about that. Let's just hope something works out. You can help me keep an eye on the surveillance tomorrow. It'll be an important job, and I could use your help. We can be a team," Zell said enthusiastically.

"Yea, teamwork!" Rinoa said while reaching out to fist bump Zell.

"Teamwork!" he replied while very lightly bumping her fist with his own.

End of Chapter 14

* * *

Author's Notes: JadeTarsier came up with the joke about Squall getting his security deposit back. I thought that was so funny, and TRUE! So I put that in here.

I'm about a chapter and a half ahead. I'm trying to work out the climax and ending now. Please read and review. Sometimes when people don't review I just imagine they didn't even make it to the end of the chapter. So please read and review.


	15. Chapter 15

Newlywed Game - Chapter 15 - Garden Party

Squall slid his fingertips under the black silk and tried to take a deep calming breath. He felt that if he didn't get it off soon, he would lose his mind. He tugged and pulled, but it wasn't giving him the desired result quickly enough, if possible, it made it seem worse. The anticipation of getting it off was killing him. How much longer did he have to wait?

 _Just calm down. Everything is going to be fine,_ he tried to reassure himself.

His black bow tie was just as tight as it was a few moments ago. Trying to loosen it hadn't helped at all. He felt like it was an oppressive noose around his neck. The feeling of being cinched and bound by all his belts was familiar to him, maybe even comforting. The belts helped him feel like he was being held together. But the slender black silk tie felt like it was choking the life out of him, like he was an animal on a leash. How people wore bow ties or even neckties with any kind of regularity, astounded him. What was their practical use? Nothing as far as he could discern. Completely useless.

 _At least the SeeD uniform doesn't have a necktie,_ he thought. _Well, the men's SeeD uniform doesn't anyways._

And in addition to all that, it was still summertime, but luckily the worst of the summer heat was over. This particular evening was pleasant and breezy, and it would only become cooler as twilight faded and it became fully dark. But he still felt that he was overdressed for a charity event/gala/ball/garden party or whatever this was. Caraway had told them it was a black tie required event, but he'd never have thought he'd have to wear a tuxedo for a mission.

He reached up to touch the offending bow tie yet again.

"Stop fiddling with it Walter," Quistis whispered while grabbing at his upper arm.

Squall put his hand down at his side as Quistis dug her sharp burgundy fingernails into his tense bicep.

"I'm not fiddling with it Kiki," he responded in a flat tone.

"Yes you are. Just stop it. It was hard enough figuring out how to tie it in the first place. Don't mess it up, I don't know if I can do it again without looking up instructions. You're fine. You look fine."

 _I don't feel fine._

Squall sulked and walked around Caraway's vast backyard garden. He'd been to the Caraway Mansion before, but he'd never seen all of it. As if the mansion hadn't looked large and expensive enough from the front, the carefully landscaped backyard grounds were astoundingly opulent. There were spiraling stone walkways that led through rose gardens. Gateways, arches, trellises, all covered with ivy and flowers were carefully placed throughout in the most aesthetic way possible. Reflecting pools, mirror balls, and statues were everywhere. There were large regal trees with gnarled roots and heavy crowns. There were trimmed hedge mazes. There was a little bit of everything. Squall felt that they could charge admission just for a stroll through the gardens.

The grounds were beautiful and meticulously cared for on their own, but they'd also been decorated for this evening's party. Now they were even more spectacular. The entire area had been decorated and lit up with strands of lights, paper lanterns, ice sculptures and floral arrangements. A heavy perfume was running through the slightly humid summertime evening air.

It looked and smelled wonderful, but it also sounded ethereal as well. Delicate notes were being teased out of stringed instruments from the live string quartet that was playing from underneath a group of trees. Everything was beautiful and lush, but also overwhelming and intimidating. He would love to go back to his room at Garden and hide. Parties weren't his thing and socializing wasn't his specialty. His senses were already on alert, and he feared he'd be completely overloaded by the time the night was over. He was just glad that they were serving alcohol.

Although tonight the only SeeD that was going to thoroughly enjoy the evening, with or without alcohol, was Selphie.

Just as he was thinking of her, he heard high pitched giggling nearby in the garden. He turned around and saw Selphie and Irvine arriving to the party. She was wearing a bright yellowish orange dress and her hair, clothes, and jewelry seemed to sparkle under the paper lanterns like she was a mythical creature from a children's story. She was a doing a great job at standing out. Irvine, who looked considerably less elfin and magical, was being dragged in by her. Sunken and tired would be the best way to describe him.

 _This mission better end soon before Irvine has to go home in a body bag,_ Squall thought to himself, not for the first time.

"Walter, could you get me a drink?" Quistis asked him.

He turned and frowned down at her. He'd noticed that Quistis seemed to drink her stresses away even in the daytime. He didn't know if it was recreational, or the beginnings of an emotional crutch, but he was worried. His SeeDs needed to be stronger than that.

Quisits looked back at him while sensing his disapproval.

"This is a party, and I won't have too many," she responded with an eyebrow raised and a hint of challenge in her voice.

He nodded at her and wandered off to fetch her a glass of whatever the waiters were passing out. He grabbed at what appeared to be a flute of champagne. The waiter continued to stand before him with the tray outstretched. After thinking to himself for a moment, Squall reached back and grabbed another for himself to help with his party anxiety. He could worry about emotional crutches tomorrow.

* * *

Rinoa watched the screens with Zell. The party looked like so much fun. Her backyard looked so pretty. The screens were so tiny, but she bet she could get a much better view from her bedroom window.

Rinoa walked away from the screens and went over to pet Angelo. She reached out to grab her leash and ball from the floor.

"Hey Zell, I think I'm going to..."

"Pfft, just go to the party Rin. Spare me your imaginative lies," he said without turning around.

"Really?" she said slowly while turning to face his back. She wasn't sure if he was joking or not. She flipped some of her hair over her shoulder nervously. She waited to see if he'd say anything else. "Aren't you going to try and stop me?"

"Like I could stop the world's only known sorceress without backup," he said with resignation in his voice.

 _Actually, you totally could,_ Rinoa thought to herself. _My powers are still developing and I'm trying to get a better grasp on how to use them on my own. Not that I'm going to let you know that. It's bad enough Squall knows._

Zell turned away from the screens slightly to give Rinoa a look before speaking.

"Although I wish, in light of our friendship, you'd willingly stay here with me tonight, I know I can't stop you. I'm going to get yelled at by the Commander later if he sees you. Which I'm pretty sure he WILL." Zell took a deep breath. "Too bad you're drawn to him like magnetically or something. I mean, you know, the types of magnets that are drawn to each other. Not like, uh, the ones that repel each other."

He shook his head and turned his eyes back fully towards the screens.

"Just don't bother anybody there, stay in the shadows," he instructed.

Rinoa was surprised that it seemed he wasn't joking about any of this.

"I don't want to pick you up on any of the surveillance footage. So I better not see you AT ALL," he said loudly.

A smile lit up Rinoa's face. This was going very well for her.

"Oh yea, I won't bother anybody. I just wanted to watch... up close," she said while turning around and running eagerly out of the apartment. She wanted to go before he changed his mind and made it difficult for her to get away. "Bye Zell."

"Don't stay out past curfew little lady," Zell said in a low voice that was meant to sound comically fatherly. "Not that you ever listen to anybody anyways," he added in a quieter voice as the door slammed shut.

Angelo whined at being left home with Zell again.

* * *

Rinoa reached out and felt behind the green ivy to find the doorbell. Her fingertips only touched cool leaves and the stone wall, but she cringed in fear of touching anything creepy, crawly, or spidery. She lightly patted the entire area for a minute before she finally found the button to ring it.

Ding dong, went the bell.

The side door by the Caraway Mansion's garages was heavily concealed by ivy, and not very noticeable to somebody who already didn't know where it was. Luckily this was her home, so she knew her way around. She couldn't go in through the front doorway, as that is where all the party guests were being greeted. The side door was much more discreet, as it was the door used only by the house staff. After a few minutes of waiting, somebody answered. She didn't mind waiting that long, she knew it was a large house to walk through.

"Miss Rinoa?" came a muffled voice from behind the thick wooden door.

The door opened slowly and Rinoa was greeted by the longtime housekeeper.

"Hello Mary," Rinoa said shyly. She hadn't officially been back at her house in a long time. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Why of course not. Come right in. It is your family's house," she said with a note of surprise and a large smile. "Does your father know you are here?"

Rinoa pushed some of her hair behind her ear nervously, and then started playing with her necklace.

"No, he doesn't know. I just want to go up to my room. I know he's hosting a party right now. I don't want to get in the way," Rinoa replied.

"That's fine. You know where it is. Just give me a ring, if you need anything," explained the housekeeper.

Rinoa smiled and nodded at her while remembering the older woman's motherly kindness towards her.

"Thanks Mary. I'll keep that in mind."

Rinoa entered the Caraway Mansion and then broke off into a sprint down the ornately carpeted hallway. She ran up the back set of stairs and headed towards where her old bedroom was. It had a large window seat that had a great view of the backyard. It would be perfect spot for people watching. She couldn't wait to get settled in there.

* * *

 _Everybody looks like they're having a really great time down there,_ Rinoa thought wistfully to herself as she pressed her nose up to the glass window pane. The lights in her room had been turned off so she could get a better view of the party outside. She was careful about not being seen, so despite it being dark, she hid behind a sheer pink curtain just in case.

 _Too bad dear old dad never threw a fun garden party like this when I was living here. He only had stodgy old man get-togethers in the dining hall, and I was never invited to those. Not that I would have wanted to go and hang out with old military men and dignitaries._

Rinoa wrinkled her nose at old memories of loud pompous men smoking cigars with her father after overindulging in rich Galbadian food prepared by their hardworking house chef. The memory of the smells of thick cream sauces mingled with the earthy tones of cigar smoke was distasteful to her and filled her with an unnamed and unsettled fear. Her childhood couldn't be described as a happy one, no matter how well she was cared for in the material sense. Rinoa remembered spending hours hiding at the top of the stairs by herself with the intention of eavesdropping on adult conversations. Inevitably the boring conversations would lull her to sleep, and she would wake up with her arms laced through the wooden balusters of the staircase. She didn't have the best of memories in this house. Nothing good happened there after her mother had died.

She peeked out the window again and saw the people in fancy dresses swirling below under the beautiful twinkling lights and the glowing paper lanterns. She could just hear the dreamy string music wafting through the air. The flowers were in a full summertime bloom, and it made her so happy to look down on everybody. This was the sort of party her mother would have liked. It was as if she'd thrown it herself. It had an air of happiness and joy in it that her father's business dinners had not. She looked down at everybody like they were in an untouchable dream world.

 _Although this isn't a dream._

She looked down and saw Squall mingling through the crowd with Quistis draped on his arm. Quistis looked beautiful in her gown. Her blonde hair glistening in the light and stood out from her dark burgundy dress while jewelry sparkled at her throat and wrists. Squall looked dashing in his tuxedo with his usually unruly hair slicked back darkly for the occasion. They looked like a perfect polished pair. The both of them appeared calm and collected, but disinterested in a cool and detached way. Like a couple of models selling formalwear in a classy magazine advertisement. The only thing that broke that illusion was Squall occasionally pulling on his collar like a little boy who couldn't wait to get out of his holiday church clothes.

Rinoa smiled to herself.

 _It's a shame I can't go down there for a closer look._

She eagerly pushed her face closer to the window. She tapped her fingers on the windowpane impatiently.

 _I mean, I could go down there. This is kinda my house and my backyard. But I SHOULDN'T go down there._

She sighed out loud.

 _Well, I could go for just a little peek. That wouldn't hurt anything. But I CAN'T because I would stick out. I'm not wearing a fancy dress,_ she thought while her mouth formed a pout.

She looked down at her jean skirt and tank top combo. It was a summertime classic for her, but it definitely wouldn't fit in down there. Especially her black combat boots.

 _But... if I had something to wear, it wouldn't be that weird for me to go down there._

She turned around and looked over everything in her room. Her eyes settled on the closet.

 _Well, this is my room. I might have SOMETHING here to wear. You know, if I wanted to. I wonder what's still in that closet._

Rinoa pulled back from the window and closed the sheer drapes. She then grabbed the heavier drapes and pulled them over that. She then flipped on the lights and went to her closet. The door creaked open and she walked inside. Memories came flooding back to her. There were clothes preserved in the back in dry cleaning bags and other less memorable things stored in the front. She dug at the back to find something for the occasion. She grabbed at a garment bag and peered inside. Several dresses she'd worn to junior high and high school socials peeked out at her.

The last time she'd worn a formal gown in this house was during her freshman year in high school. She'd just have to hope it was suitable.

She grabbed it and pulled it out from the plastic bag. A frilly pink dress emerged into the light of her room.

 _I don't remember this dress looking this bad,_ she thought critically to herself.

It was pink and frothy and covered in silvery embellishments.

 _Ugh, I would look like a fairy princess in this. What was I thinking?_

The dress only went to her mid thigh in a big fluffy puff of light pink tulle. The bodice was a slightly darker pink and covered in silvery embroidery and beading. Thin silver straps held it together.

 _This would be okay for a Halloween costume, but not for a party dress,_ she thought sadly to herself.

 _But I really want to go down there,_ she thought crossly.

Determination was one of her best character traits, but others might call it stubbornness.

 _I'll make it work!_

Rinoa made sure her bedroom door was locked before she kicked off her boots and started slipping out of her skirt and tank top. They fell on the floor and she kicked them in a pile. She picked up the frilly pink dress and tried to dive into it.

 _So far so good._

She stopped as she could barely squeeze into the bodice.

 _Whoa! I didn't realize I'd gotten so much bigger. Hey, I guess my boobs finally grew,_ she thought happily. _Unless I just got fat,_ she thought with a frown. _No, I'm not fat. I just, um, matured. Yea, that's it. I'm growing into a mature woman. A mature and lovely young woman,_ she added while nodding encouragingly to herself. She grit her teeth and zipped up the back of her dress.

It was tight and constricting, but it would have to do.

Once she saw that her body was carefully contained in her dress, she got on her hands and knees and started rooting around for a pair of matching shoes. She saw something silvery, strappy, and glittery and let out a small groan.

 _I guess I just found the pair of shoes that originally went with this dress._

She pulled them out and slipped her feet into them. They were the type of ridiculous shoes that would appeal to a 14 year old girl. They were shiny, trendy, and cheap looking.

 _I'll make it work,_ she repeated to herself.

When she felt that she was dressed well enough she went over to the vanity above her dresser. She tried striking some poses and giggled at the silliness of the situation. She was now committed to her idea, and she was definitely going to go through with it, no matter what she looked like. All she needed now was a little bit of nighttime formal makeup. She opened her dresser drawer and saw tubes of old cosmetics rolling around in it.

 _Yuck, this stuff is kinda old. Maybe I'll just put on a little bit of lipstick._

She reached in and pulled out a lipstick tube. She popped the cap off and she gave it a curious whiff. It didn't smell too bad. Maybe a little bit like an old crayon.

 _Old makeup never killed anybody... probably._ She could only hope.

She slicked some sticky pink lipstick over her lips, pressed, and puckered.

 _It doesn't taste the greatest, but I think I look pretty good,_ she thought while trying to admire her reflection. She wasn't even convincing herself. _Well, I'm going down to check out that party no matter what!_

Rinoa gave herself a final look over before storming out of her room and down to the party in the garden. If she thought too hard, she'd lose her nerve.

* * *

Squall and Quistis wandered through the gardens and mingled with people. Actually Quistis did most of the mingling. Squall was just there as her arm candy. Sour candy. Sour and grumpy arm candy.

"Oh yes, it is lovely out here tonight isn't it?" Quistis intoned pleasantly while walking away from a couple that had been chatting with them. Squall and Quistis continued strolling through the grass to admire the rose garden. It was strategic because Quistis knew Squall couldn't stand non-stop socializing. He'd earned a break with that last overly talkative couple. She thought they'd never finish listing their many accomplishments and expensive possessions. Tiresome bores. And her feet were starting to hurt from all the standing. Her pencil thin heels were sinking into the soft grass and straining her ankles.

"These heels aren't working very well with this setting," she complained. "I'm sinking right down into the sod."

"I told you not to wear that pair Kiki," he reminded her.

"Nobody likes to hear 'I told you so,'" she responded.

"Then don't ask my opinion next time," he muttered under his breath.

Quistis reached down to rub at her ankles and held onto Squall's arm tightly so she wouldn't fall over. They swayed back and forth while she tried to give her feet some relief. It was going to be a long night.

"Can't you find a bench to sit on instead of using me as a support?" Squall asked.

"Just hold still for a minute," she replied.

He huffed out a breath and looked up towards the sky while she continued to hold onto him.

"Walter? Kiki? Is that you?" asked a familiar voice.

Quistis felt Squall's body tense up at hearing that voice. She stopped looking at her feet and turned to see who was speaking to them. A familiar well dressed blonde lady stood before them. That nosy woman was always in their business.

"Oh hello Courtney, I didn't know you'd be here this evening," Quistis said with a note of confusion.

"Oh yes, I didn't think of coming, but then I saw your pictures in the paper. I'd heard of this society, but I've never gone to any of their events before now. And I knew somebody who knew somebody and I was able to buy some tickets from their charity auction. They were pricey, but it's for charity. So I thought I'd do it!" Courtney explained.

"Yes, charity. It's always good to be charitable," Quistis said. She was still mentally reeling from seeing their pushy and gossipy neighbor in a different context and setting. One in which she couldn't easily get away from her.

"Yes, tonight's proceeds will go to help fund orphanages throughout Galbadia. Poor little orphans. It's not their fault they don't have parents," Courtney said.

Squall finally started paying attention to a conversation now that the topic was something close to his heart.

"Orphans?" Quistis asked. She hadn't been paying attention to what charity was going to benefit from this event. That wasn't their focus.

"Oh yes, orphans. They are going to help fund orphanages, but don't worry none of the orphanages are close to where we live, so you don't have to worry," she said.

"Worry?" Quistis asked.

"Yes, they aren't going to be close by. And the proceeds from tonight will help reform them to be productive members of Galbadian society. At least as productive as can be hoped for people in their circumstances."

"You make it sound as if being orphaned means that they are bad people," Squall said with a hint of anger rising in his voice.

"Oh I didn't mean that at all! When they get adopted out by good families when they are babies, I'm sure they turn out fine, no matter what their parentage is. But many of the children in these orphanages are older and unadoptable. I'm worried about those children. If nobody wanted them, there must be something wrong with them. This charity will help make sure that they don't turn into violent criminals."

Squall's eyes narrowed menacingly at the woman. He'd never liked her, but she'd had her uses in informing them of neighborhood gossip. But enough was enough. Now she was outright insulting people like himself. He'd been orphaned in Galbadia. He'd never been adopted. He was an unadoptable child. But he didn't grow up to be a violent criminal. That was insulting. Although he WAS trained to kill, but that was because of SeeD, it wasn't his nature.

"I don't like how you are speaking about these children," he began angrily.

He took a step closer to Courtney and leaned towards her. His body posture was becoming aggressive. Luckily Squall was so normally stone faced that the woman didn't even see the signs of danger or aggression. Quistis saw them, she knew his temper was boiling. She was worried that he might have a verbal blow out right here and now. He didn't have a quick temper like Seifer, but when he was pushed hard, he retaliated. That's how Seifer got his scar. And once she'd even seen Squall punch a stone wall in anger. It had alarmed her, but the wall was fine, Squall was fine. His hand probably wouldn't have been fine if he hadn't been junctioned though. Would this evening turn out fine?

"Walter, why don't you get me something to drink while I chat with Courtney?" Quistis said trying to prevent a scene.

Squall straightened his back and took Quistis' verbal cue to leave. He'd love to leave, she was giving him a gift. He didn't want to speak with that women. He stalked off after giving a deadly glare towards Courtney as he went. He side stepped and parted couples on his way to find a drink. Quistis could get her own drink, the next few would be for himself alone.

 _Picking on defenseless and motherless children,_ he thought irritably to himself.

A waiter with a tray walked through the garden and Squall grabbed not one, but two glasses of champagne as he stomped past him. He threw his head back and took a long gulp as he walked without direction. His Adam's apple bounced up and down unceremoniously. The bubbles burnt as they proceeded up his nose, and he wished it were regular wine, or better yet, hard liquor. He continued walking until he was suddenly up next to a large oak tree. He leaned his back against it and began to sip at his drinks. He had to clear his head and calm his nerves before he went back to Quistis.

* * *

Rinoa snuck past all the house staff on her way downstairs. She didn't want to explain why she suddenly showed up at her home, and why she was dressed in her freshman formalwear. Going through the main part of the house would draw attention, so she walked to the side door where she had initially come inside. She looked both ways and walked out the staff entrance and started wandering back towards the gardens.

String music became louder as she walked closer. She peeked from behind the mansion and her face was lit in the soft glow of a paper lantern. There were well dressed couples milling around everywhere. There was drinking, dancing, talking, and laughing. It was a happy scene. One that she wanted to join. She started slowly edging towards the crowd in the hopes that she would blend in. She walked past the hedge maze and heard high pitched giggling that sounded like Selphie's laugh. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard bits of conversation.

"Don't! We're gonna get caught by somebody!" Selphie laughed.

"Aw, come on! It's just a little bit of kissing. So what if somebody sees. It's just a little PDA darling," came Irvine's reply.

Rinoa rolled her eyes and kept walking.

As she smelled the rose garden, she smiled to herself. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed this place. The red roses reminded her of her mother, and their heavy floral fragrance filled the air. Even though she was crashing a party in an old and out-dated dress, she felt beautiful.

She spun around with her eyes towards the sky. It was a clear night and despite all the lights, she could make out some of the more prominent stars. She could see the larger stars in The Hunter's belt, and a few stars in The Virgin constellation. She was surprised she'd remembered their names. She had at least managed to learn some things in her high school astronomy class before she dropped out and ran away from home.

She pushed some of her hair behind her ears as she scanned the crowd. Bright glittering couples were laughing and smiling. They seemed happy to be socializing with each other. She tried to pick out where Squall was among them. It was hard to spot him as most of the men were wearing black tuxedos. She was starting to lose hope when she turned to a darker part of the yard, Her eyes settled where the old oak tree sat. She remembered sitting on her mother's lap on the stone bench there, and listening to her tell fairytales.

Within the shadows of the oak tree, Rinoa saw some movement. She squinted her eyes and looked closer. A man in a tuxedo of medium height leaned against the tree and was clearly avoiding the happy people at the party. This scene felt familiar to her.

 _Is that who I think that is?_ she thought with hope in her heart.

The figure reached out and started to run his fingers through his neatly groomed hair. The action messed up his hairstyle, and long tendrils of hair now hung across his face, helping hide him from the world.

 _It is him!_

Her prey was spotted. She started stalking slowly towards him, not wanting to scare him away.

* * *

Squall took another large gulp of champagne. He hadn't eaten much at the party, but he'd had his share of calories in beverages. The alcohol was starting to catch up to him, and he was feeling loose. He leaned his head backwards against the rough bark of the tree while the champagnes bubbles burned his nose and his vision swirled.

 _Stupid party. Why do I always end up at these things against my will?_

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. His eyes slowly moved under his half opened lids to see who was coming towards him.

 _It better not be that nosy neighbor jerk,_ he thought.

A fluffy, silvery, and pinkish monstrosity of a dress came into view.

 _Wow, look at that,_ he thought, but not in a good way.

When the figure came closer he lifted his eyes up from the cheap gauzy pink skirt to the person's face.

 _Rin!_

He stared blankly for a moment before speaking. She had a habit of popping up out of nowhere whenever she felt like it, but tonight was especially important for the mission. She shouldn't be there.

"What are you doing here? I told you to stay away tonight. You can't keep bothering me at places like this. I told you that's not how we're handling this," he said. He'd wanted to see her, but not like this. He sounded harsher than he meant.

Rinoa peered at Squall. He looked do different decked out in a tuxedo. He even sounded different. His normally slow and careful way of speaking was looser and sloppier than she'd ever heard it. She thought it was funny and a little bit cute. Too bad he was being a gruff jerk. Although his grumpiness was part of his charm. That's what made her victory in winning him over so sweet. At least, that's what she told herself all the time.

"I just wanted to look at the party, up close," she said.

"You shouldn't be here. You're not going to fit in with the others. Just look at what you're wearing."

"Hey! I'll fit in just fine. I dressed up. See?" she said while doing a little turn.

"This isn't the ballet. Where'd you get that ridiculous costume?" he asked while pointing at her fluffy pink skirt.

Rinoa jumped back at his rudeness. Was he a mean drunk?

"How dare you?! This was the dress I wore to a freshman formal in high school!" she said.

"You picked that out... on purpose?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes well, I was 14 at the time, and I thought it looked good. It had a fairy princess feel to it. I liked it," she said defensively, although she'd had similar harsh thoughts about it earlier in the evening. She felt that she needed to defend her younger self.

"That's funny. I can't imagine you in high school," Squall said.

"Yea, my tastes were a little bit different then, and..."

"No, I mean I can't imagine you in school at all," he clarified. "Did you flunk out or was it just because you ran away that you stopped going? You are pretty undisciplined and bad at following directions. Really bad at following directions."

Rinoa's mouth fell open. She quickly got ready to retaliate verbally.

"Are you calling me stupid?!" she said with an edge to her voice.

"No. I'm not calling you stupid," he said while lifting up a hand defensively. "I'm joking... It's a joke. It's just that I can't imagine you learning in a structured environment. I can see tutors and home schooling though."

Rinoa backed down when she heard that he was just teasing. Although she wasn't 100 percent sure that it was ALL teasing. She would be crushed if he looked down at her. She knew on paper that she didn't have a lot of accomplishments, other than helping save the world, but she had a lot of heart and passion. She'd make her mark someday without anybody's help. So she brushed off some of his words, and attributed them to his admittedly bad social skills. She knew that he sometimes had a little mean streak still, and his ability to joke around wasn't the best.

While Rinoa silently collected her thoughts, Squall took another gulp of his champagne and was annoyed to find that he'd already drained his second glass completely. Rinoa took a step closer to him and tripped on a large and gnarled tree root. Normally Squall had catlike reflexes, but he'd been drinking. Rinoa tripped and fell without any assistance from her knight.

"Ouch!" she yelped as she hit the hard ground.

She looked down and had scraped her knees and one of her hands. She tried to brush off her hands on her dress, but she only smeared dirt on herself. She hoisted herself to her feet when her ankle gave out.

"Ouch, I think I twisted my ankle!" she cried as she flopped back down on the ground. She waved her hand in the air with distress.

Squall stooped down and tried to help her up, but her thrashing was making it hard.

"Hold still," he said while she whimpered.

He put his second champagne flute down next to the tree trunk and took hold of her arms and carefully helped her upright.

"How bad is your ankle?" he asked. He needed to survey the damages before he could do anything about it.

"I don't know. I rolled it a little bit. It hurts, but it'll be fine soon. I should just go sit down over there," she said while angling her head towards a stone bench that was underneath the tree. She started to try to hop nearer to it.

"Don't do that. You are going to make it worse," Squall said while moving towards her.

Rinoa was beginning to get flustered and upset. "Pfft, that's all I ever do. Make it worse," she said while she tried to hop away on her own again. She wobbled unsteadily on her other leg.

"Don't do that! You're going to hurt your other ankle," he said with exasperation. "Wait, I'll help you," he said quickly while reaching out and scooping her up off the ground easily, but very tipsily. Slightly drunk Squall wasn't the sturdiest of supports.

"Stop it! Stop it! You don't have to do that! I'm so embarrassed!" she whispered loudly. Although she was clearly delighted with the turn of events. Squall could be a cold jerk sometimes, but he had his moments. Nobody was perfect all the time.

He walked slowly while wavering every few steps, but he eventually made it over to the stone bench a few feet away. He sat down heavily and let out a deep huff of breath in relief. He turned and gave her a tiny smile from beneath the messy strands of brown hair that hung across his blue-gray eyes. Rinoa blushed deeply, feeling ridiculous at the situation.

"How much have you been drinking?" she asked him.

"Why do you ask?" he asked while his small smile turned to a serious frown.

Rinoa tipped her head from side to side while formulating a response.

"Well... for one thing... " she said while tapping her finger to her sticky pink lips, "...you wouldn't normally let me sit on your lap in public, especially as I'm not supposed to be here in the first place."

Squall muttered a swear under his breath and put her down next to him on the bench. He hadn't realized he was still holding her. Rinoa let out a little laugh. Maybe he'd had too much champagne too quickly.

"Champagne goes right to your head doesn't it?" she asked with a laugh while pointing at his scar. "I'll need to remember that for future reference. It helps you do stuff you wouldn't normal do, doesn't it?" She started to play with the rings on the end of her necklace.

Squall looked the other way while crossing his arms tightly across his chest. Somehow he'd felt like he'd been tricked, although he wasn't sure how. He ignored her comments for a moment before responding.

"It's not the alcohol. You... you... you make me crazy... something about you makes me crazy," he said quietly.

Rinoa let out a muffled laugh. She thought the alcohol had at least SOMETHING to do with it.

"Don't blame me! A little alcohol only makes you less inhibited. You're not doing anything you don't really want to do, right? It's not like you're black-out drunk. You're not even drunk at all now that I'm thinking about it. You're just having fun!"

Squall frowned at her.

"Oh, I shouldn't make too much fun of you. You were just trying to help me out," Rinoa said. She stretched out her ankle and heard a little pop. "Ouch, I think it's feeling a little bit better. That happens sometimes."

Squall nodded his head.

"I should go before I overstay my welcome. Thank you sir noble knight for saving this fairy princess from the wicked clutches of Mr. Mean Oak Tree. He's wounded many a maiden with his diabolically twisted roots."

Squall let out a small dry laugh. Rinoa looked over her shoulder and didn't see anybody nearby in the dark part of the yard.

"And as a proper thank you, I'll leave you with this sir knight," she said as she leaned forward and quickly kissed him several times on his cleanly shaven cheek. In finale, she pecked him once on the mouth.

Squall pulled back with shock as she quickly jumped off the bench and ran back towards the house. Her agility belied the fact that she'd rolled her ankle only minutes before. Maybe she was a fast healer. Maybe it was because she was a sorceress. Or maybe it was because she was an over imaginative drama queen who liked being fussed over by handsome men in tuxedos. Squall couldn't be sure of the exact explanation, but she disappeared within a few moments. Rinoa was like that. She was here one moment, and then gone the next. She left her mark on him, even if she didn't know it. He hoped she'd never grow tired of him and truly disappear from his life.

He sighed and looked down at his feet.

 _When is this mission going to end?_

* * *

Quistis walked through dancing couples. Pushed her way past drunken old men and their catcalls. She tried to tune out the loud chattering of drunken people. She needed to focus.

 _Where did Squall go? I thought he just went to get me a drink. He's been gone for over 30 minutes!_

She swung her head from side to side and tried to pick him out from the crowd. Her silky blond hair slid over her pale shoulders, and she pushed it back and raised her hand to her eyes to shield herself from the glare of the paper lantern and twinkle lights above her. The night was now fully dark, and it was hard to see in the shadier parts of the yard.

"Kiki, do you need some help?" asked an overly sweet voice. A voice that was filled to brim with anticipation, as if she had a secret she was just waiting to spill. Eagerness was evident on her face. Quistis had finally given Courtney the slip 25 minutes ago, and here she was back to bother her again.

"I was just trying to find my husband," Quistis replied. "We seem to have lost each other... accidentally."

"Oh, I think I saw him earlier. He was getting very friendly and familiar with a young lady in a cheap and out-of-fashion dress," Courtney said. "I think your maid tried to crash this party," she whispered in a low voice while tilting closer to Quistis' ear. "Maybe she's friends with some of the maids here and they snuck her in."

Courtney whipped out her latest model smartphone to show Quistis several incriminating photos of her 'husband' with Rinoa snuggled in his lap beneath the leafy branches of a large tree. They looked quite cuddly and cozy in the darkest part of the yard. Quistis marveled at Rinoa's cheap and ugly pink dress. It was if she was trying to look like a trendy junior high school girl from several years ago. Courtney flipped through a few more shots and ended on a few blurry photos of what looked like Squall and Rinoa kissing. Quistis' blood was boiling. There was no doubt in her mind that Courtney was going to spread this juicy gossip around tonight. Especially as she had some wonderful photos to illustrate the story with. The people at this party would find this highly amusing. It was humiliating, but more importantly, it was also hurtful towards their mission.

"Thank you for that information," Quistis said loudly while fuming. She pulled away from her wretched neighbor to look for Squall.

Her eyes scanned the crowd when she saw him walking slowly towards her.

 _I'm going to kill him!_ she thought.

When he came closer she saw that his hair had been messed up and he had a few smears of cheap pink lipstick on his cheek and mouth. Her eyelid started to twitch.

 _Rinoa should either stay away or invest in a higher quality makeup, especially budge-proof lipstick,_ Quistis thought to herself. She'd never approved of Rinoa's unprofessionalism and lack of discipline.

"I'll leave you two alone," Courtney said with mock concern. "I'm sure you have a lot you NEED to talk about."

Squall looked up at them both with a flushed and puzzled expression on his face. Courtney smiled widely and trotted away on tiny high heels, probably to start relaying this information to many eager ears.

 _That damn pubescent Leonhart!_ Quistis thought to herself while making a tight fist.

* * *

Rinoa snuck back up to her room and began undressing the in dark. She flipped off her dress and flopped down on her frilly pink bed with joy in her heart.

 _Hee hee. That was so much fun. I don't think anybody saw me other than Squall! Everything went fine._

 _I wish Squall and I could have known each other when we were younger. It would have been fun to be his date at a party like this. I could show him my house and my room, and it would be great._ She smiled to herself in the darkness. _Although meeting my father as a young teen boyfriend would have been terrible for him. It was terrible enough when he met him as a hired SeeD!_

She sat up in bed and reached out for her pile of clothes and began dressing in her usual wear. Tank tops, jeans, and boots were much more comfortable. She was glad her tastes had changed since she was younger. Her clothes were much more practical now. She couldn't imagine saving the world in cheap frilly pink clothes.

When she was done dressing she went over to her vanity to brush out her hair. She'd had a nice enough time, but she felt that she should get back to Zell eventually. Maybe she'd stay in her old room for a few more hours though. Her bed was much more comfortable than the mattress in Zell's apartment, and the current view from her window couldn't be beat. She could watch the party some more. She was having a great time watching her SeeD friends.

She was confident that this bit of Squall time would last her for awhile longer. Hopefully somebody would get kidnapped and this ridiculous mission would end. She wanted things to get back to normal.

After relaxing happily in her old room for a few hours daydreaming and peeking down at the party, she crept down the stairs and let herself out through the servants' entrance. The party was still going on and she didn't see too many people making their way home just yet. She didn't feel the need to hide, so she walked out to the front of the house without anybody running into her. Buses and cars rattled by on the street, and she waited carefully for a clearing before she walked across the street. Her mother had died in a car accident, and she didn't want her life to end prematurely by car either.

The park across the way from her house was nearly deserted, but she wasn't afraid to be walking on her own late at night. She was in the nice part of town, and she was right outside where she'd grown up. She felt safe. Safe and happy. Lounging under her favorite old oak tree with Squall had been fun. Too bad he'd never get to see what it was like when her mom had been alive. It had been their favorite spot for reading stories. Stories about magic, knights, princesses, and fairies. Her mother enchanted even the most mundane activities with her presence.

She smiled sadly at the thought of her mother and looked up towards the clear dark sky. She wondered if her mother was out there anywhere in the universe. And if she was, did she look down on her from time to time to see what she was doing.

While she was admiring the beautiful night sky she heard a sickening crack and saw the ground rushing up to meet her in the face. She didn't understand why the ground was moving, or why her body was hurting. The usual night stars had turned to an explosive swirling galaxy. White hot sparks moved and flared, then the blackness of night encroached on the edges of her vision and swallowed her whole. She was surprisingly unafraid.

 _Mother?_ was the last thing she thought as she blacked out into oblivion.

End of Chapter 15

* * *

Author's notes: I hope you guys liked this one. I had a lot of fun writing it. Please read and review. I love getting your reviews. It makes me smile!


	16. Chapter 16

Newlywed Game - Chapter 16

Squall curled up on his side and tried to get back to sleep but he was uneasy. He was unable to get comfortable. He hated waking up too early on accident. Sleep was important to staying healthy and alert. Those were two important qualities for any SeeD. His fists gripped at the edges of the sheets while his teeth momentarily clenched in frustration. If only he could fall back asleep with strength of will. Too bad that was counterproductive to relaxation. Sleep was unlikely in this state, but he continued to try even though the dark sky began to lighten ever so slightly.

Due to his rigorous SeeD training, his internal body clock could never ignore the coming dawn. He sighed and finally decided to give up on sleep as he rolled onto his back. Once he knew dawn was on its way, he figured his chance at getting more sleep was over. The plush softness of the current bed was foreign to him, as was the large size. It was hard enough for him to sleep on his small and hard dorm bed, but at least that was familiar. He hadn't been sleeping well on this mission, but it probably had more causes than just a different mattress.

Squall closed his eyes and thought of seeing Rinoa the night before. He technically disapproved of her showing up where she wasn't meant to be, but he couldn't help but smile when he thought of her wearing that ridiculous fairy princess style dress. It was funny. Well it would have been funny if nobody else had seen her. Quistis didn't think it was funny, but she'd been publicly humiliated at a party by her 'husband' so that was understandable. Maybe she'd think it was funny at a later date, but probably not. This was just one more thing for Quistis to hold against him. First the 'go talk to a wall' incident and now this.

At least that's what Squall thought, but his tally was off. There were many other instances as well, mostly in his childhood, but he couldn't remember them due to the overuse of GFs. Quistis probably couldn't remember them all either, but maybe her subconscious knew that they were there. After Ellone had left, Quistis tried to step up and be an Ellone-figure for all the others, but it had only made Squall sullen and resentful towards her. Nobody could replace his Sis. Good thing neither of them could clearly remember these instances. They were better off being lost in a GF fog. The GF memory loss wasn't all bad.

The colors on the walls were starting to lighten gradually. Dawn would be there soon.

 _Is this mission ever going to end? What was I thinking when I came up with this scheme? How'd I make Commander? I don't know what I'm doing. Xu could have devised a better plan than this._

Squall was disgusted with his train of thought, so he decided he might as well get up for the day. He carefully rolled out of bed as to not disturb Quistis, not that he could even see her over the pile of fluffy pillows he placed in between them every night as a buffer. He straightened his sheets and smoothed the blankets over his side of the bed. He didn't like to leave a trace of himself there, it was too personal. He liked to cover his tracks.

He quietly walked into the bathroom and shut the door before flipping on the light and looking at his reflection. As he brushed his teeth he observed the stubble dotting his jaw line. He'd need to shave before he took a shower. He performed the rest of his morning ritual without thought, and he was done in less than 15 minutes. Like clockwork, as usual.

He walked through the apartment with the purpose of coffee making on his mind when he noticed something different. A manila envelope was partially stuck underneath the front door.

 _Did somebody shove this under the door? I hope it wasn't one of those annoying neighbors inviting us to anything._

Squall walked softly towards the front door and stooped down to pick up the envelope. It weighed heavily in his hand.

 _Maybe it's not an invitation._

He slid one of his fingers behind the seal and ripped through it to break it open. He shook the envelope to loosen its contents. A folded letter fell into his hand. Squall took it and opened it.

As he unfolded the piece of paper, the sight of a crudely made ransom letter was revealed to him. It looked like letters had been cut out of magazines and newspapers to form the text. Altogether it was a mess and the kidnappers were clearly not good at arts and crafts. Squall couldn't easily read it, but he didn't let that put a damper on his mood.

 _Finally! Mission almost accomplished!_

Squall smiled to himself. He'd just been thinking that he was a failure for coming up with this plan, and now he had succeeded in getting the kidnappers to target their group. Now it was just up to them to catch them. He couldn't wait to get his gunblade out of the closet and go criminal hunting. This nightmare newlywed charade was almost over.

 _Wait a second. Didn't I see Quistis in bed this morning?_ he thought to himself with a pause. _Maybe I just thought it was her because of all the blankets and pillows I'd piled up,_ Squall thought to himself with uneasiness in the pit of his stomach.

He quickly walked back to the semi-dark bedroom and looked over at the bed. His side was neatly made and Quistis' side was a mess of blankets and pillows.

 _It was just the darkness and my imagination. She's not there. Everything is going according to plan._

Then the pile of blankets and pillows shuffled and moved. An arm fell out from underneath the covers to lay limp on the side of the bed. Squall tensed in alarm. He walked over to the bed and took a corner of blanket and peeled it back to reveal the top of Quistis' head. Even in her sleep, she didn't like the disruption, and she snuggled down under the blanket further, quickly pulling the sheets over her head.

Squall felt like the world was melting around him. He didn't understand what was happening. He quietly walked out to the living room and sat on the couch and tried to examine the ransom letter. The letter crinkled as his hands smoothed over it. It was difficult to read, but he could make out key phrases.

The word that stuck out the most to him was MISTRESS.

 _Mistress? Why would they think I have a mistress?_ he thought in horror. _Who could they be referring to?_ he asked himself while his gut already knew what he didn't want to admit.

He blindly grabbed at the envelope and shook out what was left inside. Grainy photos spilled out onto the coffee table. Although they were of poor quality, Squall could see the subject of the photos was a scared and disheveled looking Rinoa. She looked like a deer in the headlights and she was tied up with rope. She was alive but it was clear that she had not been treated well.

Squall shot up off the couch and tried to pace throughout the room. His shin banged into the coffee table and he almost swore loudly as the table creaked across the floor. He ran his fingers through his still damp hair. He paced and turned and knocked into an end table and nearly sent a lamp crashing to the floor. He grabbed it just in time and placed it back onto the end table with shaking and unsteady hands.

Shock and disbelief were numbing him, but then he felt incredibly guilty that she'd been the one that was kidnapped. That wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't a SeeD. But then Squall's mood quickly changed to anger. She wouldn't be in this situation if she'd just have listened to him and stayed at Garden. This was one hundred percent completely her fault. Then he felt guilty again at being angry with her when she was scared and alone. He ran his fingers through his hair and clenched his fists. He wanted to find those people and rip out their throats.

He thought of his gunblade and dashed into the bedroom and started rooting around in the closet. His gunblade case was buried somewhere in the far back. He threw neatly ironed shirts and dress pants onto the floor in a messy pile. His arms shook as he knocked things aside until he found his gunblade case and his familiar pair of well worn black boots.

Quistis was awoken to the sound a crazy person destroying her closet. That crazy person was Squall of course, but she didn't know that initially. Tearing a neat closet apart was not something she'd think Squall would ever do. She sat up in bed and watched the backside of Squall as he rummaged through the closet on his hands and knees.

"Walter, is everything okay?"

"NO!" he yelled. "I... I... got a... ransom..."

"You got a ransom letter!" Quistis said with elation in her voice. She looked so happy and relieved. Her professional pride was getting hurt that the mission was dragging out.

"Wait, why did you get a letter? Shouldn't Butch have gotten one if Cassidy had been kidnapped?" Quistis asked.

Squall turned around on his knees and looked up towards Quistis. The sun had risen enough that they could see each other clearly now. The wild eyed look on Squall's face frightened Quistis, but she chose to mask her reaction.

"Just cut the acting! Selphie wasn't kidnapped!" he growled.

"What Walter?"

"SeeD Quistis TREPE! Selphie wasn't kidnapped! The ransom letter wasn't for her. It was sent here TO ME."

Quistis looked up at him.

"I got a ransom letter for my MISTRESS and not YOU!" he yelled while she cringed at his words. "As apparently you are still safe and sound here."

He turned back and started rustling though the closet and pulled out a different set of clothes, one he could fight easily in. He grabbed a plain white v-necked t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. He stood up and started chucking off his fancy linen shirt and pants right in front of Quistis. He no longer had the luxury of caring about his own awkwardness. If Quistis had never seen a half-crazy half-naked man before, well then that was her problem, not his.

"Squall?" she asked while deliberately not averting her eyes from his body.

Quistis noticed he had a lot more than one weird scar on him. The forehead scar was aesthetically pleasing and perfectly placed, unlike the marks of healed cuts, wounds, and magic burns that covered his arms and torso. He'd certainly taken a beating in the war, more than he let on, not that he let on about anything that was bothering him. This wasn't what she'd imagined him to look like, not that she'd been imagining this every day for years. Her interest in the scar tissue was purely clinical, at least that's what she was telling herself. She was brought back to her senses by more yelling.

"Don't you get it Quistis? RINOA! RINOA has been kidnapped! Our plan didn't work at all! Now we have to hurry and save her before she gets killed!" Squall yelled while trying and failing to get his pants on. His hands were shaking terribly and he kept missing the proper leg holes. He twisted his foot into the pants and tripped and fell to his knees while still primarily in his boxers. He slumped onto the carpet and a stream of swears flowed out of his mouth uncontrollably.

The situation was getting out of hand. Quistis jumped out of bed and rushed over to Squall. She kneeled on the ground in front of him and grabbed his bare shoulders. He flinched at her touch, but he looked up at her hopefully. Motherliness came easily to Quistis. He looked up at her like a scared and helpless child and waited for her sensible words of comfort and care.

A sudden slap cracked out through the room and his head spun to the side. His jaw smarted sharply. He had to work his jaw up and down to get the feeling back into it.

 _Did Quistis just hit me?_ he thought with disbelief as his head slowly twisted around to look at her again.

"GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF SQUALL!" she yelled.

 _Maybe that was too far,_ Quistis second guessed herself a moment too late. She flip-flopped on decisions often. Quistis tried to overcompensate for the possible overreaction, and she reached out and tried to pull his stunned faced towards her chest in a gesture of comfort. This time Squall's reflexes were ready for her and he grabbed her by the wrists mercilessly.

"What is the matter with you!?" he said in a quiet yet viciously intense tone.

"I'm... I'm... just trying to help," she said in a small voice. "You were starting to lose it."

He dropped her wrists and looked down at himself. He was twisted up in a pair of jeans and half naked in front of his former instructor.

 _SHE'S RIGHT! I am losing it!_

He stood up and turned his back to put his pants on properly. Then he reached for his v-neck shirt and pulled it on over his head before turning back towards her.

"Okay, let's think rationally," Quistis said. We wanted one of us to be kidnapped. So let's proceed as if one of us was kidnapped. What's the first thing we'd do?"

"We'd contact Zell and get him to track the person," Squall answered. "But Rinoa doesn't have a tracker on her because SHE WASN'T MEANT TO BE PART OF THIS MISSION! I told her to stay at Garden! I told her. I told her!"

"Zell had been monitoring a lot through the surveillance equipment. Maybe we could track their whereabouts through that," Quistis offered. She didn't want Squall to have a breakdown.

"Surveillance? Wasn't Dincht watching us? Wasn't Rinoa staying with him? Why didn't we hear about this through him first? Why'd this even happen? He's an A ranked SeeD, how'd anything happen to her in the first place?" Squall asked, wanted to put blame on somebody. Although he'd end up blaming himself for everything anyway.

Squall was starting to lose it again. Quistis decided that now was not the time to tell him that his v-necked t-shirt was on backwards.

"Let's not panic. Rinoa has battle experience, she can handle herself," Quistis said reassuringly.

"That's the thing," Squall said while grabbing at his forehead, "she can't handle herself!"

"But she has all that battle experience, and you've been training with her for months and months..."

"She getting better, but she doesn't fight well or even sometimes AT ALL unless somebody is there with her," Squall said.

"What?! I don't believe you," Quistis said incredulously.

She crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She maybe wasn't Rinoa's biggest fan, but she'd seen what she had been able to learn and achieve during the war. She was a powerful sorceress wasn't she? How could her own knight speak about her abilities so dismissively.

"You weren't there for the Odine Bangle incident at Edea's Parade! When Irvine and I caught up to her, she was just kneeling there in shock waiting to be eaten alive by those Iguions. She had her weapon and magic, but she didn't even do ANYTHING to protect herself. She was paralyzed! And Rinoa hasn't fully worked through that mental block yet. She's still very dependent on others for protection... and everything else," he said while wincing as if in pain.

"Okay..." Quistis said. She clearly had never been told this story before. Squall wasn't prone to talking, and Irvine had been discreet in not sharing Rinoa's weaknesses with others. "But maybe she'll be better this time... because she's a sorceress now."

Squall lifted up his eyes and met hers. "I don't think so. We've been training, and she's still having trouble managing the amount of magic she has... and... and..." a look terror crossed Squall's face. "What if she tries to get away on her own, but she's still tied up, and she accidentally casts a fire spell and burns down the building she's in, but she can't get away... and... and..."

 _Should I slap him again?_ Quistis thought.

"That's enough. Less fruitless thinking, more planning. We're SeeDs! We get the job done!" Quistis said while taking control of the situation. "Show me the ransom letter and let's contact the others," she said while standing up and squaring her shoulders.

Squall rushed into the living room in a daze to grab the packet he'd received that morning. He ran back into the bedroom to give it to Quistis to inspect. His shaking hands delivered the packet to Quistis within a few moments. Once she had the ransom letter, she started scanning over the materials while Squall stood by in silent panic. Quistis tried to block him out in order to concentrate on the matter at hand. Although Rinoa was technically her friend, they weren't very friendly or particularly close. She felt that she would be more able to make levelheaded decisions because she wasn't as personally involved as Leonhart.

She narrowed her eyes and perused the ransom letter and accompanying photos of a kidnapped and scared Rinoa.

 _That should have been me,_ Quistis thought. She always found herself being overly jealous of Rinoa. _I would have been a more capable victim. Although I doubt anybody would worry about me. I can take care of myself, I don't need anybody,_ she thought sadly. _Time to take control of this while Squall is emotionally compromised._

"Leonhart, call up Zell and inform him of the situation. I'll call up Selphie and Irvine and do the same. Maybe they can help us track Rinoa quickly," Quistis said while grabbing her cell phone and dialing. She noticed Squall still staring off into to space. "LEONHART, DO IT NOW!"

Squall quickly went to search the apartment for his cell phone to call Zell. The cell phone was on the coffee table in the living room, so once he found it he quickly dialed Zell. He waited a few agonizing moments before the phone was answered.

"S'up?" said Zell over the phone.

"KIDNAPPED!" Squall yelled in a low voice while gripping the cell phone with both hands.

"Wha? What? Nobody has been kidnapped. Everybody's trackers are all where they should be. I don't see anything. You must have dreamt it," Zell responded sleepily. Although he'd stayed up very late the previous night, he'd slept better than he had in a long, long time. He finally felt refreshed and relaxed. He hadn't slept this well since the arrival of...

"RINOA!" Squall yelled while interrupting Zell's thought process. Squall was reduced to stumbling in one word sentences. Their conversation was going to take a while. "WHERE?"

"Huh? Rinoa? What?" Zell said while snapping to alertness. He was confused. "I thought she stayed over in her old bedroom last night. Don't worry buddy, that place seems safe enough. You're jumping to conclusions and really scared me for a moment."

"RANSOM!" Squall yelled breathlessly into the phone. He had dropped onto one knee and his mind was reeling.

"Huh, you got a ransom letter? FOR RINOA?" Zell yelped while finally understanding what Squall was yelling about.

The barely coherent conversation that Squall and Zell were having was interrupted by Quistis grabbing the cell phone away from Squall. She put the phone up to her ear to finish the call.

"Dincht, we're having a situation here. We are going to gather the necessary items, and then we will convene at your apartment. That will become our main home base from now until the time that the mission has reached its conclusion. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" he yelled while Quistis ended the call. She placed the cell phone back on the coffee table before turning towards Squall. She reached out and took his smooth face into her callused hands. He was so distraught that he didn't even pull away.

 _Why does he have to be so stupidly handsome?_ she thought with irritation.

"We're going to collect our necessary belongings, and then we're going to make a base at Zell's. Then we're going to go get Rinoa. Understand?" she said.

He merely nodded with his eyes looking blank. She gripped his face a little bit harder. Her finely manicured nails bit into his skin slightly.

"MOVE IT!" she barked.

Squall jumped into action and went back to the bedroom where he finished suiting himself up for a fight. They'd be at Zell's place as quickly as possible.

"Squall! Keep your gunblade in its case, and still try to pretend to be Walter at least until we are at Dincht's. It's crucial to keep up this ruse for a little while longer. We need the element of surprise. They must not know that SeeD is coming for them. We have to be careful. Rinoa can't get hurt."

"Rinoa can't get hurt," he repeated.

Quistis ran into the bathroom to changed into something more suitable than a nightgown. A light dress and heavy boots wouldn't look too out of place, so that's what she put on. When she was done, she threw her weapon, battle gear, and a few other essentials into a bag and got ready to leave their swanky newlywed apartment for what was going to be, perhaps, the last time.

When she'd turned towards Squall he'd fixed his v-neck shirt so it was facing the proper direction. A bag was slung over his shoulder and he held his gunblade case in hand. Hopefully nobody would recognize what type of case it was. He was wearing black jeans, a white t-shirt, and his black boots. The outfit would be unusual for Walter's character, but not completely strange. Everybody wears jeans sometimes, even rich guys. He looked okay, and he'd be able to put on his ammunition belts and thick protective gloves later. Right now he was dressed well enough for a bus ride to the rough part of town.

"Let's move out," Quistis said with her face set like steel. It was Quistis' time to shine now.

* * *

Everything was cold and dark. She felt like she was floating in an abyss and her body was made of jelly. It would be so easy to just linger in this feeling of nothingness, but she felt that something wasn't right about her situation. Not that she knew what her situation was.

 _What am I forgetting?_

It was so dark and her head hurt.

 _Are my eyes open or closed?_

She didn't know where she was, but she also didn't know who she was. Most people would have been bothered by this, but she wasn't.

 _I just want to curl up and go to sleep forever._

Her brief flicker of consciousness went out again, and darkness flooded her senses.

* * *

Squall led the way up to Zell's apartment. He'd been there before to drop off Rinoa after their night at the bar, not that Quistis knew about it, but he had. He knew right where to go. They both hurried up the apartment stairs side by side until they were standing before Zell's apartment door.

Squall knocked twice. The door shook from the force of his pounding. Within a moment Zell opened the door for them. He was just finishing up changing into a fresh set of clothes, and he was pulling his shirt down over his stomach. Squall and Quistis pushed past him and shut locked the door behind them. They dropped their gear and stood silently and faced each other.

Zell's face was an open book of emotions. He showed concern, but also apprehension, fear, and guilt. He felt that he should have kept Rinoa safe, after all, they were roommates.

Squall's was good at hiding emotions, but sometimes he gave away what he was feeling. He showed fear and guilt. He felt that he should have kept Rinoa safe, after all, he was her knight.

Quistis stared at the two SeeDs in front of her and was bothered by their emotions. She didn't want any harm to come to Rinoa, but it was her own damn fault. She was ordered to stay at Garden in the first place. She always had to poke her nose where it didn't belong and push limits. At least she had accomplished what the SeeDs had not, she had gotten kidnapped. The mission could be completed successfully still. This wasn't what they'd had in mind, but they'd work with it. The job would get done if she had any say in it.

"When was the last time any of us saw Rinoa?" Quistis started.

Zell opened up his mouth to speak when they heard another knock at his door. He went over and opened the door for Selphie and Irvine to come in. They were carrying several bags full of their gear when they entered, but they dropped it by the entrance.

"Hiya!" Selphie said.

"Uh, why don't we all move away from the doorway," Zell said while motioning for everybody to go into the center of the small apartment.

"As I was saying before Irvine and Selphie joined us," Quistis said. "When was the last time any of us actually saw Rinoa?"

At the sound of Rinoa's name, Squall winced visibly.

"I, uh, I saw her last night around 8 pm," Zell said while raking his hand through the back of his hair.

"Okay, and you?" Quistis said to Squall.

"I think I last saw her around approximately 9:45 pm," he stated.

"Did anybody else see her past that time last night?" Quistis asked.

"I didn't see her at all last night! Why was she even at the party?" Selphie asked.

Quistis ignored Selphie's questions while glaring at Squall.

"I also didn't see her at the party last night. My attention was occupied elsewhere," Irvine said with a yawn.

"Okay, so the last time anyone of us saw her was approximately 9:45 pm in the backyard of the Caraway Mansion. Squall noticed the ransom letter at about 5:30 this morning. The ransom letter had to prepared, the photos taken, and it all had to be delivered, so that takes time. Right now I'm going to assume that she was caught after leaving the party since that was the last time she was seen and she never arrived back to Zell's apartment."

"Zell, why didn't you alert us when she didn't come home last night?" Squall with a gruff rattle in the back of his throat.

Zell took a step back and put his hands up in the air defensively.

"Rin said she wanted to go to her old bedroom and watch the party from up there. I thought she'd come home, but when she didn't I thought she'd just slept over there. I mean, look at this place, I'm sure her bed was a lot more comfortable than sharing my mattress."

Squall's eyelid gave a twitch.

"I mean, and I figured she was safe with all you guys there, especially Squall. I didn't even imagine it being dangerous. She was surrounded by SeeDs and she was in her own family's house. It seemed she was safer there than here. And I'd be even more worried if Squall had never seen her last night. At least we know that she made it to the party. Otherwise she might have been missing even longer. I never even saw her on any of the surveillance screens, so Squall's sighting narrows the window from when we think she'd been taken.

Zell stopped talking and sighed. He walked back towards his computer set up and started pulling up the footage from around 9:45 the night before. Everybody crowded around to see if they could find anything helpful in the footage.

"She stayed to the edges of the garden, and she must have been using a side door," Squall said.

"Are there any cameras from inside the house Zell?" Selphie asked while trying to be helpful.

"The cameras were set up to survey the backyard and the main entrance to the house, as well as the foyer. The private residential parts of the house were not included," Zell said with a frustrated sigh.

* * *

After hours of combing through surveillance footage, Squall was starting to get desperate. He felt that he should share something that he rather wouldn't. They needed to find out where Rinoa was. They needed to contact her.

Squall cleared his throat and got ready to do something difficult, share with the others. He wished there were another way, but he couldn't think of one. He'd rather go on hard evidence based on the surveillance footage, but that seemed to be a dead end. He'd have to try anything in his power. Or if not his power, his sorceress' powers.

"I think I know of a way to get in contact with Rinoa," Squall said softly. He said it so softly that he hoped nobody had heard him. This was going to be a painful conversation. Maybe he shouldn't share. It was too unbelievable. He couldn't really even believe it the first time it had happened.

"What? Why didn't you say anything before?" Selphie said while turning her face towards him.

She took a step back from Zell's computer set up to look at Squall fully. She took a small bouncing step towards him. He moved backwards slightly to keep his distance. He leaned forward and his eyes flicked to the floor. His posture was defensive and wary.

"Did you put your own personal tracker on her so you could keep tabs on her whereabouts? Are you some kind of controlling stalker boyfriend or something? That doesn't sound healthy, but in this case I'll overlook it since it'll help us find Rinny. You can go get therapy for your weird and creepy perversions later," Selphie said. "I mean, you should have told us right away so we didn't have to waste all morning looking at Zell's surveillance stuff, but I understand wanting to hide the fact that you're super creepy."

Selphie put her hands on her hips and tipped her head to the side while looking at Squall. She stood there expecting him to explain. His cold eyes flicked up at her for a moment before looking back down at the floor.

"I didn't put a tracker on her," he said with hesitation in his voice.

"Then how are we going to get in touch with her Squall?" Zell asked while scratching the back of his head.

Quistis cocked her head to the side and looked over at Squall while he did his best to avoid eye contact with everybody.

"Sometimes I get these... um... feelings..."

"Woooo, Squall is talking about his feelings. It's the end of the world as we know it," Selphie interjected.

"Sefie, let him talk," Irvine chastised. "He's having a difficult time explaining, don't interrupt him."

Squall took a deep breath before continuing.

"I get these feelings... Sometimes I can see things... Sometimes I can hear her voice in my head."

Quistis took a step forward and put her hand up in air.

"Squall you are under a lot of stress right now. These things aren't unheard of. Maybe it's a form of combat fatigue. Don't worry, you'll feel better when this mission is all over. Just ignore these sensations for now and power through. SeeDs can't be weak. We work hard. We play hard..."

"We study hard," Selphie and Zell said in unison with Quistis while quoting the Balamb Garden motto.

"Combat fatigue? You think that's what I'm experiencing right now?" Squall asked with anger rising in his voice. "I didn't ever want to tell anybody about this, but we're somehow linked. I wanted to keep it personal. I don't fully understand it myself, but it has happened more times than I can comfortably explain it away by saying it's just an active imagination."

"Yea guys, I wouldn't accuse Squall of having an overly active imagination," Selphie chimed in. "I have a pretty good imagination, and my imagination can't even imagine Squall having an imagination."

"Selphie!" Irvine stressed.

Quistis felt that she had to get the group under control.

"Squall what you're describing is just stress, fatigue, and your love for Rinoa. I know you think you're the only person in the world to feel this way, but you aren't. It's chemicals and biology," Quistis explained.

"You don't understand! We sometimes can hear each other's thoughts and feelings," Squall growled. "We've shared dreams. We're connected somehow, I just need to figure out how to tap into that!"

Quistis' mouth dropped open at Squall's declaration. Zell shifted from side to side uncomfortably while looking at the floor. Selphie looked frantically between the faces of her friends. Irvine gave a soft fake smile and he didn't even make a dirty joke about Squall 'tapping into' anything. Nobody had been expecting him to say any of that. It was a game changer.

Squall shook out his head and let his bangs fall across his eyes. He took another step backwards from the group.

"I'm have to go to the bathroom," he said weakly while turning to the only isolated refuge Zell's dingy studio apartment offered him.

* * *

Squall went into Zell's tiny bathroom, flipped on the light, and shut the door behind him. The bathroom bothered him, but it wasn't because of its smallness. Squall was used to small living spaces, not that Garden would call them small. They would be referred to as 'efficient.' They only had as much space as necessary for cadet and SeeD living. Maximizing the number of people, or commodities as they were sometimes called, that could be housed at Garden. So despite Squall's lack of concern for the size of the bathroom, he was mainly bothered because it didn't meet his admittedly high standards of cleanliness.

The bathroom hadn't been painted in years and mildew was evident near the ceiling. Several spots in the tile grout had mold growth, and the tiles themselves were barely hanging onto the wall. The mirror was flecked with stains and had a large crack running through it. One of the vanity light bulbs sputtered and blew out, throwing lopsided shadows across the bathroom.

 _This sure isn't the Presidential Palace, but I guess it's a good enough place for me to have a nervous breakdown._

He looked down and saw one of Rinoa's long dark hair strands stuck to the inside of the dirty sink.

 _Rinoa._

He reached out and grabbed the sides of sink and took a deep breath. He slowly lifted up his head and stopped scrutinizing the bathroom so he could look at his own reflection. He felt like he was falling to pieces, so he was surprised that no matter how terrible he felt on the inside, he didn't look that bad on the outside. His heart was hammering, he felt like he was shaking, the entire world seemed tilted, but his reflection looked worried yet stoic. He was amazed.

 _I don't have time for a breakdown. I can't give up on Rinoa. She needs me. I gotta pull myself together or at least fake it._

He was trying to bolster his spirit. Time for freaking out was a luxury he didn't have right now. He narrowed his eyes at himself in determination. He just needed a minute to collect himself and then he'd go back out and take charge. Time was of the essence. They needed to get a lead on Rinoa soon if they were going to get to her before something bad happened. If the captors were following their previous protocol she'd be safe for a few days. The captors were just waiting for a ransom, she'd be safe for a while. Unless... Squall didn't want to think about Rinoa trying to fight back without backup. She could get hurt and they could get violent in earnest. It was best to concentrate on finding her soon. They needed to do a swift and tactical strike. He just needed to figure out where she was being held.

Once Squall determined what he needed to do he straightened his back and focused on what was going on the other room. There was a huge gap at the bottom of the bathroom door and it wasn't hard to hear what was being said.

"Hey guys, stop picking on Squall! This is a very stressful time for him and we have to be supportive," Selphie said with strength in her voice.

Squall heard Selphie defending him and was filled with an emotion that was close to fondness for her. They didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things and their personalities were as close to being polar opposites as could be for fellow SeeDs, but he was glad that she was showing concern and care for him. He smiled inwardly. It had cut to his core when he'd opened up to the others and had been met with disdain and disbelief. He didn't like revealing something so personal to everybody, it had made him feel naked, but he didn't want to hide anything that could help Rinoa.

"Selphie, you don't really believe him do you?" Quistis said. "Nobody could possibly..."

"Well..." Selphie started. She sounded defensive still.

Quistis felt that they'd indulged his fantasy enough. She didn't want them wasting time on something so pointless. She needed to fully explain Squall's state of mind to the others.

"Selphie, you didn't see him earlier this morning! He is becoming emotionally and mentally compromised the further this goes on. He's coming undone. We can't rely on his leadership at this point."

"Quistis?" Zell said. He was becoming uncomfortable with her description of the commander's mental state.

"Okay, wait Quisty. I said that we should be supportive of Squall and I meant that 100%! I don't believe that he can hear Rinoa's thoughts but I BELIEVE that HE BELIEVES that he can hear Rinoa's thoughts. And I think we should all support him while we figure this all out," Selphie said.

Squall's heart fell at Selphie's explanation of the situation.

 _Even Selphie doesn't believe me,_ Squall thought to himself. _She seemed like the type that would be the most open to something like this. Why is nobody open to this? I mean, we fought a devil inside of a magic lamp, is hearing somebody else's thoughts that strange in comparison?_

"Hey guys, I meant it when I said to stop picking on Squall! You gotta be nice to him! I mean the commander is smart and strong, but if he starts going a little crazy cuckoo here, I don't want to be on the bad side of a strong and capable guy who is a gunblade specialist. I mean he has a giant heavy meat cleaver of a sword that has a gun on the end of it. Now THAT is the type of guy you don't want to piss off! Seriously, if he goes nuts here he could totally chop us all to bits and I do NOT want that to happen. So let's humor him. It isn't unheard of to crack under pressure," Selphie said.

Squall could hear feet shuffling uncomfortably in the other room. He clenched his fists in rage.

"Oh, and guys, now's a good time to check your junctions, just in case" Selphie whispered loudly.

He heard additional whispering from the others, but he couldn't make out what they were saying at all.

 _They're scared of ME?_ Squall thought angrily. _Are they going to stop me from helping find Rinoa? They need me more now. I'm the only link to her we have!_

Squall gripped the handle of the bathroom door and pulled it open. He walked out while everybody's eyes were on him. Selphie was the first one to approach.

"Are you feeling better Squall?" Selphie said while reaching out to pat him on the arm. He flinched at her touch and his nostrils flared with disgust. "Why don't you sit down on Zell's cozy and comfy little mattress over here? I bet a little rest would make you feel better. More clear headed for planning."

Squall sighed and let Selphie lead him to Zell's bed. He sat down as Quistis thrust a glass of lemonade in his hand. It was just easier to go along with them so he threw back his head and began to gulp down the drink. It tasted a little off. It was probably a weird Galbadian brand of lemonade that he wasn't familiar with.

Squall blinked a few times and laid his head back on the pillow. It smelled like Rinoa's shampoo. He smiled. But then he noticed that it also smelled like Zell's hair gel and he frowned. He blinked a few more times and noticed that he was unusually sleepy for the daytime.

 _Wait no!_

He sleepily rolled over and looked up at Quistis as she gave him a sympathetic look. Zell and Irvine looked away from the betrayed expression on Squall's face.

"Don't worry Squall. It's just a mild sedative. I would have cast sleep on you if you weren't status defense junctioned against it. You need to rest your mind right now," Quistis said. "Breaking down is not going to help this mission. We're going to handle it for now..."

Squall didn't hear any more of what she was saying because he was drifting off into a medicated sleep.

* * *

End of Chapter 16!

Happy (almost) New Year everybody! Please read and review. It makes me so happy to get a review!


	17. Chapter 17

Newlywed Game - Chapter 17 - Connections

Squall felt like he was floating in a near disembodied darkness.

 _Am I having another Time Compression dream? Not again,_ Squall thought to himself.

He was no stranger to that place. His mind always took the opportunity to torment him in that way. Whenever he wasn't keeping himself busy, his mind was back trapped there. It was always in the back of his brain like a yawning chasm waiting to pull him under. During the day he tried his best to turn his back on those memories, fears, and projections. They really were a combination of all those things that bothered him. But at night, when he was asleep, he couldn't control himself. That's why he assumed he was having one of his normal dreams or nightmares, or whatever they were.

But the usual tightness in his chest wasn't there. In addition to that, he faintly heard another voice. So that was different than normal. Would the difference be welcome?

"Oooooh floaty," said a feminine voice as words formed from the void. The voice sounded carefree which was in direct contrast to his steeled worry. He was able to recognize the one who had spoken.

"Rinoa?" Squall said.

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Rinoa is that really you? Am I just imagining this?"

"What are you talking about? Get out of my dream whoever-you-are. You're not imagining this, I am. And you're upsetting me. I just want to curl up and not think about anything," she answered.

It definitely sounded like Rinoa, a confused Rinoa, but it was her.

"Rin, please. It's Squall."

"Hi Squall, nice to meet you," she replied.

"Rinoa, please snap out of it. You know me. Please remember. Why can't you remember?"

She didn't respond. Squall was becoming alarmed. She had to remember.

"Rinoa, remember when we met at my SeeD Graduation dance? I was wearing my new uniform and I was drinking champagne in the corner of the room. You came up to me and made me dance with you. It surprised me so much I dropped my drink. You didn't care about the broken glass, you just kept dragging me onto the dance floor."

Rinoa hummed to herself while thinking.

"Squall... that's right. I remember you sorta. You were a grumpy jerk, but you were so cute, I couldn't help but force you to dance with me even though you lied and said you couldn't. And then we saw a shooting star together."

"Yes! The shooting star. The dance. You remember now?" he responded with urgency in his voice.

"Yea, I remember you lying to me. That was pretty mean."

"Okay, but please try to remember us. Everything. SeeD. Garden. Deling City. The mission."

Rinoa took a few moments to think. Time dragged out agonizingly for Squall.

"Mmmm, yeah... I kinda remember some stuff. Everything is kinda fuzzy. My brain isn't working really well right now. Kinda scatter-brained."

Squall needed to explain.

"SeeD is currently under contract for a mission in Deling City. The team includes Zell, Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis in addition to myself. We were working undercover to find the culprits in a recent string of kidnappings of women. And... okay Rinoa... just stay calm, but YOU were kidnapped. Did they drug you? Hurt you? Are you okay? I need to know!"

If this information bothered Rinoa, she didn't seem to express it.

"Hurt me? I think I remember something about my head. I think my head got hurt. I don't want to wake up again. It'll be so much worse than floating here. I just want to curl up here in the darkness and not think. If it's dark and quiet then I don't have to think about anything. I know pain is waiting for me when I wake up."

This wasn't what Squall wanted to hear. He wished they could see each other. Maybe then she'd come to her senses. This conversation was so much more difficult than it had to be, at least it was in his opinion.

"Rinoa, are you making it dark on purpose? Can you change the dream at will?" Squall inquired quickly.

She was silent while Squall waited for a response.

"I'm... I'm not really sure, but I could give it a try," Rinoa said with a slight hesitation in her voice.

Rinoa was more powerful than she realized. She just needed to hone those powers. She just needed a little push.

"Just try to imagine us. Remember us. You can do it. I think it'll be easier to talk with you and... I want to be able to see you."

"Okay, just a sec," she responded

The complete darkness started to change to a rich twilight haze of nothingness. The weightlessness they'd been experiencing disappeared as a false gravity took over. The world around them started becoming concrete, but in a vague dreamlike way. Things were soft and unfocused until Rinoa turned her attention to them. They were standing in a blurry field dotted with yellow flowers that stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. It looked impossible. It was also Rinoa's favorite moment of the day, the part right before the sun set, but it was frozen in time. Puffy clouds filled the sky, but they were stationary, calm, and picture perfect as they reflected the oranges, reds, pinks and purples of the forever setting sun. But the most important detail was that they had bodies again. Rinoa stood a few paces in front of him and looked just like she had the day he'd met her. Her short ivory dress hugged her body perfectly. The vividly colorful sunset colors cast a soft glow around her. It was still and peaceful there, but also very unnatural.

"I did it!" she said with a smile lighting up her face. She looked down at her hands and wiggled her fingertips. "See I remembered the day we met!" she said while looking down at her party dress.

Squall smiled at her and felt relief. Then he looked down at his own body. He was happy to see himself, but something didn't seem quite right. He had his fur collared leather jacket on, but he also had tufts of fur on the sides of his hips. His usual v-necked undershirt seemed more decorated now, and it was cut lower than he was comfortable with. Too much of his chest was exposed. His Griever necklace didn't look right either. The proportions were all wrong. His appearance had a funhouse mirror quality to it.

"Did I remember you correctly?" she asked with an earnest look on her face while trying to get his attention with a small wave of her hand.

Squall's attention briefly flicked up towards her, but he was trying to figure out what he looked like. He looked down at his hip fur and his plunging neckline before he noticed that his belts were all wrong and he had a weird towel hanging off of them. His belt buckle was a cartoonish lion. He winced at that last detail the most.

"..." he didn't reply.

"Did I get the details just right? I know my head is a little fuzzy right now..." she said while gripping the sides of her head with a painful wince.

Squall paused for a moment before answering.

"You did a good job Rinoa. Exactly like how I remembered," he said in a calculated and even tone.

"Oh good!" she said while walking towards him and burying her face into his overly exposed chest. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a warm embrace. "I feel better now. Thanks for rescuing me Squall."

Her breath huffed against a patch of bare skin on his chest as she ran her hand up his back. She breathed a sigh of contentment. Neither one wanted to release the other. Squall allowed Rinoa to continue to embrace him and he used the opportunity to run his hands through her smooth dark hair so he could check for signs of her head injury. He wasn't able to find anything amiss. This was Rinoa's dream projection of herself so it would make sense that she wouldn't reflect what she looked like in the real world, but he thought it was worth a try. He needed to know what had happened to her. He'd take any clue he could get.

"I haven't rescued you," he responded slowly. "But I will rescue you. I promise you that. And Rinoa, I don't know how I'm doing this or how much time I have to communicate with you. I'm asleep right now, so this is a dream. I don't really know exactly how I got here in the first place, or how to get back here when I wake up. Quistis slipped me a sedative and..."

Rinoa pulled back from him angrily and looked up at his face.

"She did what?! That bitch! Oops! I meant meanie! Meanie! That big blonde meanie!"

Squall sighed in agreement while tilting his head to the side wearily. Rinoa's shock and anger at Quistis was starting to bring her to her senses. She was remembering things better.

"Yes, it was mean. I told them about our bond and they didn't believe me. But I have to find your location so we can come get you. Just tell me where you are and I'll come get you as soon as I wake up."

"You told them about all the weird bond stuff? I thought we were keeping that private from our friends! It was one thing talking about it with Edea, but our friends aren't going to understand!" She looked angry. "It's really personal!" she whispered.

Squall crossed his arms over himself protectively.

"You're right. They didn't understand. Not at all. I'm sorry but I had to try telling them because I need to find you quickly. This is a special case. I don't know how else to find you. Just try to remember where you were taken. Do you remember anything? Please try."

"Okay, I'll try really hard. Um, I remember walking back to Zell's apartment after the party. I stopped in the park across from my dad's house and I remember looking up at the sky. The next thing I knew, I was falling on the ground after being hit in the head. That's all I know. Sorry."

Squall's face fell. That wasn't a lot to go on. That was mostly what they'd already assumed had happened. She could be anywhere now. But at least he knew exactly where she was initially grabbed.

"So you have been unconscious since then? You don't know of anything beyond that point?" he asked.

She twisted her toe into the blurry grass at her feet while looking up at a stationary pink cloud. It hung in the air thickly. Her eyebrows knit together in concentration while staring at the colorful sky.

"Well, I think I remember something," she said while tucking a piece of dark hair behind her ear. "I felt weightless and weird." She fiddled with the rings on her necklace. "I must have been carried. And I remember a dark damp place with some water sounds."

"The Deling Sewers? Do you think you were taken in the sewer system?!" he blurted out.

"Um yea, maybe... I guess... I dunno..."

That was a clue he could look into. The sewers were a huge labyrinth, it made sense that they would have used them to get away without being seen. Squall could search the sewer system.

* * *

Selphie peered down at Squall's sleeping face and brushed his hair back off his forehead. He was clearly sleeping with the aid of a sedative. An unmedicated Squall Leonhart would have instantly woken up and smacked her hands away from himself. Selphie decided to take full advantage of this moment and keep playing with his hair. Smooth, shiny, and so much fun. Squall Lovelylocks.

"Quisty, do you really feel that was necessary? I mean, you just could have given him a glass of water and told him to lie down for ten minutes to clear his head," Selphie said while twirling a lock of Squall's brown hair around her fingers before giving it a little playful tug. "He's trustworthy and logical most of the time. He just needed a little teeny-weeny mental break so he didn't go nuts and kill us all. He probably would have understood our very valid concerns about being hacked to death with a gunblade."

Quistis grit her teeth before responding to Selphie.

"He's under intense stress. Somebody HAD to do something. And while I agree that he is USUALLY very logical, I know that he is fairly illogical when it comes to Rinoa. We can't have him having a complete mental breakdown over this. The mission is nearly over. We've achieved one of our objectives. Well almost. Somebody DID get kidnapped. We just have to figure out the rest," Quistis said while crossing her arms over her chest tightly.

Nobody spoke. The sound of traffic and yelling was heard from the busy street outside.

"Since this isn't workin' out as quickly as we were hoping, what are we gonna do about our accommodations tonight?" Irvine asked while already thinking about bedtime even though it wasn't even lunchtime. "We can't all sleep on Zell's mattress."

Selphie plopped down next to Squall and gave him a big hug.

"I call this spot!" she giggled.

"Sefie!" Irvine breathed out with mock concern.

"Oh calm down Irvy! I'm just kinda sorta kidding here," she said while looking down at Squall's face. "Poor guy. He's so scared and just needs somebody to cuddle him. Like a big grumpy bear... or a gruff little dog... hmmm, dog... COOKIE!" Selphie jumped off the mattress and grabbed the ends of her short hair. "I can't stay here the whole time. I gotta take care of my little dog!"

Selphie quickly paced back and forth while worrying about her somewhat new pet. She loved having a pet of her own, but having a pet while being an active SeeD was going to be difficult.

"I was hoping that this mission would progress much faster at this point, but Selphie is right. We can't all stay here for several days. It would be suspicious that we'd abandoned our homes... and our pets," she said while looking over at Selphie with a sigh.

"Hey guys, how long until he wakes up?" Zell asked while bouncing nervously on his feet. He walked over to peer down at Squall.

"I only gave him a mild quick-dissolving sedative to aid in sleeping," Quistis replied. "He shouldn't be out that long. I suppose it would depend on his body mass and tolerance. I wonder how much Squall weighs?" she asked aloud while looking him up and down with intense scrutiny.

Selphie wrapped her hands around his bicep. It seemed pretty solid.

"Hmmm, he's pretty muscular Quisty. I bet he weighs..." she paused a moment, "250 pounds probably."

"I'm nothing but muscle and I don't weigh anything NEAR that!" Zell yelled.

Selphie tried to pinch some fat off his stomach. "Although he seems pretty slender to me so..."

"Will you STOP POKING HIM?!" Zell stressed while shaking his fists in the air. He didn't like how Squall was being treated.

Selphie stopped jabbing at Squall's stomach and returned to stroking his hair softly like he was her pet. If it was anyone else but Selphie, someone would have said something more direct to stop her. It wasn't worth the hassle though, and Squall was knocked out, so no harm done. They let her be.

Quistis inwardly sighed and decided it was time to get back to the conversation. "As I was saying, the time he stays asleep would depend on his body weight and general tolerance for medications like these. Different people respond differently."

"Yea, those sedative things don't do anything for me!" Selphie chirped.

They all looked over at her with interest. This got her attention and she stopped stroking Squall's hair and made a pouty face.

"What? Why is everybody looking at me like that? Dr. K. sometimes makes me take them when she's working on me. She says I move and talk too much when she's stitching me up. Although I think she's just blaming me for having really, really unsteady hands. Just look at these scars!" Selphie exclaimed.

She quickly turned around and pulled up the hem of her dress to illustrate. Rough and uneven suture scars were revealed when she edged up her dress, in addition to revealing a small cutesy pair of moogle underpants. Irvine's eyes glazed over. He'd seen these scars many times before. Quistis just frowned, but Zell covered his eyes in horror at seeing his female friend's underpants and scarred up butt cheeks.

Selphie frowned fiercely when she saw Zell's reaction. A reaction that was, in her opinion, insulting to her very cute body. He should be honored to be able to glimpse her butt scars. They were hers and by association they were CUTE!

"Oh grow up Zell! We all have scars. I'm sorry mine aren't as dramatic and aesthetically pleasing as Squall or Seifer's!" Selphie retorted while pulling her dress down, making a half-hearted effort to cover herself again. This wasn't the first nor the last time that Zell would see Selphie's underpants, possibly even that day. "But as I was saying, those sedative things don't do much for me! I mean my scars would be a lot more smooth and even if they did and... Wait a second, why did Quisty have some in her purse? Does Dr. Kadowaki make you take them too when you're in the infirmary? But we aren't at the infirmary and..."

Quistis sighed and waved her hand away at Selphie's questioning.

"Anyways, don't worry about Squall AND stop looking at me like that Zell! He's fine. Apparently he doesn't have a tolerance for being sedated. Maybe Doctor Kadowaki doesn't feel the need to give these to him ever. Or she does, and he's too stubborn to take them. Anyways, he's just relaxing and taking a little break. It was for his own good. Let's take this time to make a plan to rescue Rinoa. Just leave him alone and let him sleep it off," Quistis instructed.

"Well, why don't you come up with a plan to rescue Rinoa. You're smart and good with planning Quisty," Selphie interjected. "I should go home and make sure Cookie is okay. But don't worry, I'll come right back!"

Quistis opened her mouth to tell Selphie to stay put, but she really wasn't doing anything useful at the moment. Sadly, nobody really was. She might as well return to her apartment to care for her dog.

"Fine Selphie. Go. But come back quickly," Quistis said.

Selphie spun around to leave and Irvine silently followed her out the door like a tall shadow. Quistis hadn't intended for him to leave too, but she wasn't surprised at his actions. It was probably time for a lunch break anyway.

"Zell, why don't get some take-out for lunch. Selphie and Irvine will be back soon, hopefully. Could you go out and grab us some sandwiches for lunch?"

"Sure thing Quistis!" Zell said with enthusiasm. He wanted to be helpful in any way that he could. "I know of a little place near here. Rinoa and I have had their sandwiches before." He took a deep sigh. "She really liked the spicy ones. They were so good her eyes got all misty."

He slumped over and his head rolled forward sadly. They were all going to be enjoying lunch together like carefree friends when Rinoa was tied up somewhere. They needed to find her quickly. He wished Quistis hadn't drugged Squall. Squall had been freaking out, but he was smart and capable and extremely motivated. He was really good at rescuing Rinoa. He rescued her all the time. From things big and small. She was a magnet for trouble. Squall could have helped brainstorm a plan by now. Well he would have if he wasn't forcibly asleep.

"So Quistis," Zell ventured cautiously. "What plan do you have for rescuing Rinoa? I know you want this mission to end well."

Quistis stood straight backed and kept silent.

"First thing we have to do is locate her."

"Yea, but how do we do that?" Zell said. "We've been in Deling City all this time and we haven't figured out where these people take their captives. The other victims are too messed up to know where they've been, right? They were very disoriented."

"Yes," Quistis replied shortly. "But I'm sure we'll think of something soon."

"Yea, but none of our surveillance stuff has been helpful yet," Zell responded.

"We'll keep looking," she said.

"But..."

"ZELL! Go out and get us some sandwiches!" Quistis yelled.

Zell put up his hands in the air defensively and got ready to leave the apartment. He was ordered to go get some sandwiches, and that's what he'd do.

Quistis sighed deeply after everybody had left. Finally she was alone. Actually she wasn't exactly alone, even if she wished she was. Squall and Angelo were sleeping peacefully in the corner of the room. She decided she wanted to feel even more alone so she went into Zell's tiny bathroom and shut and locked the door. She just need to refresh herself while everybody was currently away. Just take a little bit of alone time, maybe a mild sedative, but only if necessary. This mission was getting on everybody's nerves.

* * *

Squall laid perfectly still. His breathing was calm and even. It looked like he was sleeping, but he wasn't. He'd been listening to what the others had been saying for the last few minutes. The sedative had gradually worn off after Selphie and Irvine had left, but he was afraid that the others would see that he had awoken. He didn't know what they'd do to him next. His pride was still smarting from being drugged by his second in command. Quistis was going to have her ass handed to her when this was all over, but he couldn't stop to worry about reprimanding her now. He had to think of a way to save Rinoa.

While he'd been asleep it didn't seem that his "friends" had made any progress in locating her. Luckily, thanks to his strange bond with Rinoa, he'd been able to get some clues into her whereabouts. He wasn't going to waste his time telling them that though. They had their chance to believe him. He wasn't the sort of person to make up wild exaggerations for the sheer fun of telling an outlandish story. That was something Laguna Loire would do, therefore, that was something Squall Leonhart NEVER would. If ridiculous storytelling was a part of his DNA, then it was the part of his DNA that wasn't being expressed.

Anyways, if he told them what had happened in his dream state with Rinoa, they'd just tie him up and think he'd gone nuts. He couldn't trust them. He couldn't waste any more time. Time was extremely important. He could do it himself. Falling back on quiet self-reliance was natural to him.

 _I have to get to the sewers. They probably transported her through them. Maybe they left some clues._

Squall kept his body limp and continued breathing steadily, feigning sleep. After he heard Zell and Quistis' conversation, Zell left to go grab lunch. Selphie and Irvine must have already left as he didn't hear them anywhere in the apartment. The only other obstacle to sneaking away was Quistis herself, and she was still in the apartment with him.

 _I have to figure out a way to sneak out of here when she isn't looking, and fast. The others won't be gone forever._

Squall knew Zell's apartment was tiny. Maybe if she looked at his computer screens he could stealthily sneak out when her attention was occupied. Or he could... His thoughts stopped when he heard her heavy boot steps walk into the bathroom. The door shut, and he could hear the lock being engaged.

 _This is my chance!_

His eyelids shot open and he quickly and quietly sat up. His head swam ever so slightly, but he couldn't worry about that now. Once he got up and running, he hoped his blood pressure would even out. He was young and healthy. He was glad he'd already junctioned that morning. He grabbed his gunblade case and was ready to go. Within less than 10 seconds he was almost out the door. Right as he opened the apartment door Angelo trotted up close to his heels and made a small whimpering sound. The dog raised her paw up in the air slightly.

Squall looked down at the dog and felt understanding flow between them. He nodded to Angelo and let her leave with him. He shut the door softly behind them and quickly and carefully descended the stairs before hurrying out the front door. He was almost free. Nobody was going to stop him. His heart beat faster in anticipation.

Once his boots hit the cement sidewalk he broke into a run with Angelo panting behind him. They had to go to find the sewer entrance that was closest to the Caraway Mansion. They ran to the nearest bus stop and hopped on. The bus rumbled away down the noisy street.

 _I'm on my way Rinoa,_ he thought to himself while giving Angelo a brief scratch behind the ears.

* * *

Quistis walked out of Zell's tiny bathroom feeling somewhat calmer and refreshed. The stress she'd been feeling was easily treated with a little splash of cool water on her face. She was going to hunker down and get a plan ready to find the criminals. The mission was nearing its end.

She gently arched her back and stretched out her neck while taking a peaceful break. Zell wasn't back yet, and neither were Irvine and Selphie. Her eyes calmly scanned Zell's apartment before focusing on the mattress in the corner.

Her brain froze. Zell's sheets were halfway strewn across the floor and nobody was there. Squall was missing. That OCD neat freak must have left in a hurry.

 _LEONHART!_ Quistis fumed while she breathed out painfully from her nostrils. _He's going to let his emotions blow SeeD's cover!_

* * *

End of Chapter 17

I've wondered how much the characters weigh. It's easier for me to guess women's weights than men's. I know muscle is dense, but how much do you think these guy's weigh? I bet Irvine weighs the least of all the guys because he (in my imagination) has the least muscle mass.


	18. Chapter 18

Newlywed Game - Chapter 18 - Tracking

Squall descended the metal ladder carefully. He wished he could go faster, but he only had one free hand to grip the ladder rungs. Descending would be easier if he didn't have to carry Angelo, and having his heavy gunblade on him wasn't helping either. As soon as he'd gotten inside the sewer access building, he'd taken out his gunblade and stowed the case there. Hopefully nobody would notice and take it, but that didn't matter. He could always get another gunblade case, Rinoa was irreplaceable.

Squall let out a small grunt as he tried to maintain his precarious balance on the ladder. Angelo let out a small whimper. Although it was summertime and he had left his leather jacket back in Balamb, he was glad that he always had several pairs of leather gloves packed away. He needed a good grip on the ladder and on Angelo. A sweaty palm could result in a nasty fall for them both.

"It's okay," he said softly to the dog while continuing their descent.

Angelo had insisted on coming with Squall, and he couldn't refuse. Animals knew things. And Rinoa's dog must have understood that Rinoa was in trouble, due to both her absence and Squall's nervousness. The dog understood. She'd be his ally.

 _The dog is more helpful than my SeeDs,_ Squall thought with a grimace as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

Squall had been gripping the ladder so tightly that all his arm muscles were visible through his skin and shaking. He reached out with his boot and finally felt cement beneath him. He settled his other foot firmly on the ground before releasing his grip on the ladder rung. His attention turned to Angelo now that he could use both hands. He gripped the dog and firmly set her down before stretching out his own arms and legs.

His eyes adjusted to the lights dancing along the walls of the arched sewers. A gently flowing stream was flanked by two concrete paths and an occasional waterwheel. The Deling City sewer system was a pretty nice place, for a sewer at least, but he needed to stay alert and limber. He couldn't let his guard down. Monsters lived in the sewers, and he usually didn't fight completely alone unless he was in the Training Center. He was mostly alone anyways. He wasn't sure if Angelo counted. He had seen Angelo use Phoenix Downs on knocked out people before, but that was only when Rinoa was around. It was chancy at best. He didn't want to be down there and get knocked out. He didn't like being at the mercy of anything. The world was merciless. He had to be strong on his own.

"Good boy," Squall said to Angelo.

 _Or is it good girl?_

Squall stopped his useless questioning and focused on the task at hand. He needed to find clues so they could track Rinoa. The only thing he had to go on was what Rinoa had told him in their shared dream. She thought that she might have been hit on the head and taken through the Deling City sewers.

Squall had gone back to the Caraway Mansion and tracked the area to the nearest sewer access station, which happened to be in the large archway where he'd previously fought Edea and Seifer. When nobody was looking, he got ready to use one of his lesser known SeeD skills. Lock picking. But it had been unnecessary. The kidnappers probably had been to this place because the lock had been destroyed and the doorway swung open easily. It gave him access to the sewers and renewed his hope that he was on the right track.

It had been another hot day on the city streets, but now that he was deep underground it was damp and chilly. At least chilly for the summertime. He wished he was more covered, more protected. He thought of Rinoa's vulnerable position and scanned the area quickly. Squall looked up and down the cement walkways. There were so many directions he could go. The sewers were an interconnected labyrinth. He had to find some sort of clue to know which way Rinoa had been taken. Otherwise he could be walking around down there for days and find nothing.

Angelo trotted off to a nearby corridor started sniffing at a crack in the cement. The dog let out a low bark followed by a whimper. Squall followed the sounds and tilted his head to see what Angelo was doing. The dog pawed at the ground impatiently. Squall walked up to Angelo and dropped onto one knee to see what she was pawing at. It looked just like a piece of garbage at first glance. Squall reached out to pick it up. It was a crushed plastic tube of some kind. Actually it was just a cap of a navy blue tube. He flipped it over and looked inside. He didn't see anything at first because of the poor lighting. He smelled it slightly. A strange waxy crayon smell filled his nostrils. He held the tube up to the light as best he could. There was a familiar greasy pink smudge on the inside.

 _Rinoa's lipstick?!_

"Good Angelo," he said softly while giving the dog a pat on the head. "You think Rinoa was taken this way?"

The dog whimpered in response.

Angelo was Rinoa's pet and ally in battle. She was a well trained dog, but she wasn't a search and rescue canine. Those dogs were formally trained by a set of rigorous standards. Angelo didn't have that sort of training. The heroic things the dog did in battle were the result of Rinoa teaching her dog tricks she'd read about in pet magazines, the dog had her limitations. Could she track Rinoa's trail by scent alone?

Squall kept thinking to himself. He didn't know a whole lot about dogs, but he was usually impressed by Angelo. It could be possible. He could keep looking for clues while the dog sniffed out a trail. It would be better than using his eyes alone. It wasn't like he was tracking a trail through a forest. It was mostly cement and water down there. A trail was going to be hard to pick up, and he would use all the help the dog could give.

Squall reached out and petted Angelo lightly once more. He held out the smashed lipstick tube for her to sniff.

"We're going to go find Rinoa." The dog let out a small bark. "Find Rinoa," Squall repeated.

The dog started sniffing the ground and kept trotting slowly in the same direction of where the lipstick tube had been found. Squall was glad that the dog had insisted on coming along.

* * *

Zell juggled a few bags of sandwiches in his arms in addition to a plastic convenience store bag filled with water bottles, soda cans, and chips of various flavors. He was nervously excited. He wanted to find Rinoa quickly, but he didn't know what to do. Hopefully somebody else would come up with a plan soon. He was just glad that he'd been sent on an errand. It was something that he could do to help. They had to eat to keep their strength up. They needed calories to keep thinking and eventually fight. His Ma always stressed the importance of eating a healthy and hearty meal no matter what was going on in the world. You never knew when you'd need the energy. And he always used a lot of energy.

Zell jogged up the stairs two at a time. The staircase creaked and groaned beneath him as dust was kicked up into the air. When he got to his door he set down his heavily laden plastic bag and started rooting in his pocket for his set of keys. Once he found them he jammed them into the keyhole and burst back into his apartment with energy. The scene he came upon was not the one he'd been expecting.

Quistis stood with her back to him. Her posture was tight and her hands gripped her temples. The entire apartment was silent and felt very empty.

"Quistis?" Zell started carefully.

Then Zell looked around and noticed why the apartment felt so empty. Squall was no longer on the mattress.

"Did Squall wake up?" Zell said with relief in his voice.

"Yes he did," Quistis answered while not facing him.

"Is he mad?" Zell asked. He was afraid Squall would be very angry with his friends, especially Quistis.

"He's mad as a hatter," Quistis replied.

Zell didn't understand what she meant by that. "Is he in the bathroom or something? What's going on, why aren't you facing me?" he said while growing impatient.

Zell's question was interrupted by knocking at his door.

"I'm baaaaack!" said a sing-song voice. It was Selphie and Irvine.

Zell opened up the door and Selphie and Irvine quickly moved to the center of the little apartment, at least Selphie did. Her eyes immediately looked over at the empty mattress.

"Ooooh, Squall's up! I hope he's not too cranky after his nap." She looked over at Quistis' exasperated face. "What's the matter Quisty?" Selphie looked over at the closed bathroom door. "Is Squall taking forever in the bathroom and you gotta go? Tell him to haul his butt on out of there and make way for a lady." Selphie looked around the apartment once more. "Oh, and where's Angelo? She isn't in the bathroom with Squall, is she?" she joked.

"He's not here anymore!" Quistis said. "Can't you all see that?"

"Uh is he out walking Angelo?" Zell asked.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? He ran off to save Rinoa by himself!" Quistis yelled.

Nobody seemed to be surprised by that.

"Oh, that Squall! He pretends to be all uptight, but he's really a crazy romantic," Selphie said.

"Selphie, it's not romance! It's recklessness!" Quistis said.

"Hey, I also said CRAZY!" Selphie said defensively. "And maybe he wouldn't have run away if you hadn't drugged him up Quistis."

"You were the one that was afraid of him getting upset and attacking us," Quistis pointed out.

"Well, it was a valid concern of mine, but I thought he should just relax and calm down naturally. I didn't feel that we were at a stage where medication was going to be administered against the patient's will. If you really wanted him to stay I'm sure we could have used friendship, guilt, and some super extra tight hugs," Selphie said while hugging her arms tightly to herself.

"Why are you so worried Quistis?" Zell asked. "Maybe Squall will save Rinoa. He's pretty good at it."

"Zell, we're on a mission. The mission was to get one of us kidnapped so we could locate and apprehend the men... I mean... PEOPLE behind this rash of Deling City kidnappings. "

"It's okay Quistis, you were right the first time, it's probably men behind this," Selphie said while nodding her head.

"That's what I kinda figured too," Zell chimed in while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Mmmm," Irvine hummed in agreement. "Definitely."

"ANYWAYS, as I was saying. The mission wasn't to save Rinoa. Squall might go in there like a wild man and save Rinoa while the kidnappers run away. He'll end up exposing SeeD involvement and we will lose our chance to find these criminals and bring them to justice," Quistis explained. "Now we have to figure out a way to find Squall and stop that from happening, in addition to completing the mission objective and THEN saving Rinoa."

"I don't think it will be that hard to find Squall," Zell said with confidence.

"Why not?" Quistis asked. She was surprised Zell was offering a suggestion.

"Because of these babies!" Zell said while snatching Quistis' hand and bringing it up to her face. She pulled her hand back from him instinctively and gave him a look of irritation. "Do I have to spell it out for you Quistis?" he teased. "The wedding bands have TRACKERS on them. We don't know where Rinoa is, but we sure know where Squall is!"

Selphie smiled and gave a little hop. Finally Zell's equipment was being useful.

"Great idea Zell!" Selphie said with glee. "Irvine has a men's wedding band with a tracker in it just like Squall." She looked over at Irvine's bare hand. "Hey Irvy, where did your wedding ring go?"

Irvine looked down at his hand in exaggerated astonishment. "Where'd it go? I musta lost it someplace," he said.

Selphie glared at him in disbelief. "What are you up to now?! What, you don't like being married to me anymore?" she asked. "Who is she?" Selphie yelled while trying to get up in Irvine's face, which was very difficult as he was nearly an entire foot taller than her. "I want to know now!"

"Sefie baby, just calm down. It's just a little misunderstanding is all. And anyways, we aren't really married..." Irvine mumbled.

That was not what Selphie wanted to hear. That was not going to calm her down. It was like putting gasoline on a bonfire. Selphie stood glaring at him. Waves of heat were rolling of her tiny body. She was one second from letting loose on Irvine. She had a lot of pent up anger at him that she'd been stuffing down for a long time.

"Hey guys! I found him!" Zell yelled from across the room, thus stopping the brewing fight between Selphie and Irvine. Selphie quickly calmed down and walked over to where Quistis and Zell were standing by his computer set up. They could see a little red dot blinking on the screen.

"That's his location," Zell said while pointing to the blinking dot. "Now all we have to do is go get him. Simple right?" he said while swinging his head around and trying to catch the eyes of his teammates. A sharp-toothed smile lit up his entire face. His bright blue eyes flicked between all his friends. They were too busy looking at the map on the computer screen to answer him. When nobody responded he reached out to grab a sandwich. He might as well fuel up before they had to go. They're were probably going to have to eat and run pretty quickly if they were going to catch up with a frantic Squall. You didn't want to get between an upset Squall and his Rinoa, just like you wouldn't want to get caught between a mother bear and her cub. Zell smiled while chewing an overly large bite of his sandwich. Squall wouldn't like being compared to a mother bear, he was more of a lion sort of guy.

* * *

Squall felt like he'd been lost in the sewers forever. They'd already fought off a handful of monsters. Fighting them wasn't that hard, but he had to stay alert. He hadn't been on an official mission in a while. He was glad Angelo was there for backup in addition to using her as a rescue dog. Angelo kept sniffing the ground and following a trail, but every so often, she would backtrack and start again.

 _Does the dog even know what she's doing?_ Squall thought to himself, and then he felt ridiculous questioning the pet's search and rescue capabilities. He was a SeeD and here he was relying on a beloved pet.

Everything looked the same. He wasn't sure if he was going in circles or not. How'd the criminals find their way down there? A map? He wished he had a map.

He dropped to one knee and put his head down for a moment. The drowsiness from earlier hadn't completely gotten out of his system. He felt sleepy, but it was no longer naptime for him. He wished he knew how to connect with Rinoa outside of their dreams.

 _Where is she?!_

* * *

Rinoa's eyes slowly blinked open, but all she saw was darkness. Her head hurt and her eyelids felt thick and sticky. She continued to blink them, but ended up wincing in pain. Her mouth felt dry and tasted metallic. She wished she could have a cool sip of water. If only somebody would come and give her one. She was parched.

 _Where am I?_

She felt her bangs fall across her face and she went to brush her hair away when she realized that she couldn't freely move her arms. She pulled at her arms again and realized that they were tied together behind her back. Her heart started to race at being trapped. She tried to kick out in terror and realized that her ankles were bound. The rope that tied her arms together was also linked to her bound ankles. She couldn't move very much at all.

A small gasp escaped her lips when she remembered what had happened. She'd been kidnapped. She was kidnapped. She was currently in the state of being a captive. She was helpless.

She started to shake in fear. It was pitch dark. She was hurt and alone. She didn't know where she was and neither did her friends. She didn't know where to start. Her muscles were cramping from her uncomfortable position and she was shivering from fear. The desire to escape being caged was animalistic and raw. Her mind began to race.

 _I gotta get out of here! I gotta get out of here!_

She writhed in place while trying to free herself. It didn't help. She just got some scrapes from the rough and dirty floor. She wanted to scream, but she didn't know where she was and if her captors would come for her. She didn't want to see them. She didn't know what they'd do to her.

 _Calm down Rinoa! Just calm down!_ she yelled at herself in her head. That phrase never did anybody any good. _Okay, so you got kidnapped. That's what SeeD was trying to do. Just do what they would do._

Rinoa tried to think what one of the SeeDs would do. She imagined Quistis being tied up in her position. Quistis probably would be calm and collected. She'd know exactly what to do. She'd be able to untie herself and capture the criminals without breaking her composure or even breaking out in a sweat. Selphie would probably have only faked being knocked out and then would surprise her captors with her energetic violence and explosions. She would have had fun with it. Her friends wouldn't be scared, and they didn't need to be. Their training probably covered escape techniques. They were junctioned SeeDs. They had all the proper training to deal with something like this.

Rinoa didn't have any training like that. Well, she had been trained by Squall a little bit, but it wasn't much. She'd mostly been doing stretching, pushups, and trying to bring her sorceress powers under control. She'd made progress, but it wasn't a lot. It was too easy to lose herself into her powers. She could just unfurl her wings and lose her mind. Maybe she could do something helpful with her magic, but maybe not. She could burn the ropes free most likely, but not without burning the building down. It was hard to just do small things. But it was so much easier with Squall around.

 _Squall,_ she thought to herself sadly. She got a brief flash in her mind of Squall wearing tufts of fur on his hips. She was momentarily confused. _Squall?_

The memories of her recent dream came flooding back to her. Squall said he was coming for her. Was that just what she was wishing, or was that really Squall in her dream? He'd been in her dreams before. She hoped it was something magical and not just one of her more mundane Squall dreams. Her usual mundane and occasionally sexy Squall dreams.

 _Maybe I can connect with him when I'm awake. I'm a sorceress. Anything is possible. At least it is as far as I know._

Rinoa tried to get into the most comfortable position she could and concentrated. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, although it was dark either way.

 _Squall,_ she thought. _Squall help me! I'm right here! Can you feel this? Do you know where I am?_

She opened her eyes. She hadn't felt anything. Would she have felt something if it worked? It must be possible somehow to call her knight to herself. Ultimecia was able to control Seifer from far away. She could influence him.

Rinoa sighed. At least that was Seifer's story that he was just being used by Ultimecia like a puppet. But what if it really was his doing? What if she had only prompted him with some verbal suggestions? Maybe there was less magic involved than everybody was pretending.

Rinoa shook her head. _I can't be thinking like that! I can't lose hope now. This is all I have. I gotta at least try. I don't know for sure that it's useless._

Rinoa started to concentrate again. Her breath hummed and she strained her mind to reach Squall's. Fear drove her determination to reach him. It was bitter in her mouth. Her body alternated between hot and cold and she shook with intense feelings.

 _Squall! Squall! Squall!_

* * *

Squall kneeled on the ground with his head down. He was staring at the concrete and trying to gather his thoughts. This situation felt hopeless.

A weird rush of nervous energy came over him and he jumped up to his feet. He felt as if something was about to happen. He turned and looked around the sewer system. There was nobody there but Angelo. His body thrummed with energy, but he didn't know what to do with it. The intense desire to find Rinoa came over him anew.

He had to find her. His legs started moving down the concrete path with determination. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. He felt that he should check out this corridor. He couldn't say why. It just felt right to him.

 _Felt right?_

That didn't sound like something Squall would think to himself. He'd be more likely to weigh the evidence and then build a plan around what was the best course of action. He didn't just go with his heart. If he was going to trust any part of his body, he'd go with his gut over his heart. His soldier's gut didn't pull any tricks. Following heartstrings was more of a wishy-washy Rinoa thing to do.

 _Rinoa!_

Was Rinoa calling to him? Was this magic? Was he getting near enough that they were starting to influence each other.

 _Rinoa, is that you?_ he thought as hard as he could. _I'm coming to get you. Just stay calm. Don't worry,_ he thought to himself with intense worry.

"Angelo, do you think we should keep going this way?" Squall asked while walking quickly down the corridor. Angelo trotted up beside him before pulling in front of him. She started sniffing the ground excitedly. She gave an excited whimper.

"Was Rinoa here?" Squall asked.

The dog took off down the sewer. Squall went with his heart and fell into a jog behind Angelo.

* * *

Zell gripped his handheld device and tried to pinpoint the blinking dot. The sun was high overhead and it was hard to see in all the glare. Also the fact that Selphie kept leaning over him and pointing at the screen wasn't making it easier to see the map. Her flipped hairstyle kept poking him in the eyes and sometimes got up his nose. Zell sneezed. Selphie pulled her head back and finished up her bag of chips.

"Selphie, stop it! I'm doing it. Just follow me. I'll lead the way," Zell said.

"Zell, I was just trying to help. You've never led anybody before and I was making sure you were doing it right. You should be thanking me!" she said while balling up her empty chip bag and throwing it into a nearby trashcan.

Zell turned and glared down at her. He didn't have far to glare down, but he tried to make it look menacing.

"Guys, stay on task. We don't have time to lose," Quistis said while shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. She wished she'd brought a hat. She looked over at Irvine's wide dark brim and was briefly envious. Although she mostly disapproved of him wearing his cowboy hat when they were technically still undercover. Barely undercover, but she'd have appreciated his effort and consideration to see this mission to an end.

"Something isn't right with this tracker thing," Zell whispered to his friends. "It says we found Squall, but I don't see him anywhere."

They all started scanning the street. It looked like a normal summer day in Deling City. There were plenty of buses, cars, and pedestrians bustling from one point to another. They didn't see Squall anywhere. People pushed past them while they stood around gawking like tourists.

"What's the accuracy on that device?" Irvine asked with his eyebrow raised.

"I dunno. SeeD stuff is pretty accurate. He should be right here." Zell answered while tapping his finger on the device.

"But what's the exact accuracy? Is it down to a few feet? A few yards? 100 feet? More?" Irvine asked.

"I don't know! It's pretty accurate. Does it actually matter?" Zell asked.

"Pfft," Irvine huffed. "Accuracy is everything. It's the most important thing!"

"The dot is moving again," Selphie whispered while leaning into Zell.

They turned their attention to the device again. They started walking to keep up with it.

"Why does it say we are in the same place if we can't see him?" Selphie asked. "We're in the same spot according to the map."

They all thought to themselves. If their equipment was broken what were they going to do?

"WAIT! " Selphie yelped. "Maybe this thingy is accurate. It's not broken at all. We're just thinking about it wrong!"

"Huh?" Zell asked.

"We ARE in the same spot!" she said. "We just aren't TOTALLY in the same spot. You get what I'm saying?"

"No," Zell and Irvine said.

"Well, from the map's point of view we're in the same spot! But the map is 2D, it's totally flat. It doesn't take in account for different levels!"

"So what you're saying is that he's not at street level?" Zell asked.

"Yea, that's right. He's either above or below!"

They started looking up and down the street. There were high rise buildings, but the map showed that they were directly on top of the dot. On top!

"The sewers, remember!?" Selphie said with a little hop. "Do you think he's down in the sewer system?" she asked with excitement.

Quistis sighed in realization that Selphie was probably right. She hated the sewers with a passion and did not want to go down there again ever.

"Selphie is right. The sewers run deep under the streets in Deling City. That's probably where he is right now. Let's try to find an access point and start tracking him all over again.

"Yipeeeee!" Selphie cried. She was ready for some excitement and adventure. She loved a good action movie or a romance. And she was hoping that this mission would shape up to have a little bit of both. "I hope we'll catch up to Squall in time to see him save Rinoa! That is gonna be so romantic! I wish I could have seen them both floating around in space. That sounded TOTALLY CRAZY HOT!"

"You wished you were out there dying in space with them?" Irvine asked incredulously while tipping his cowboy hat back off his head.

Selphie didn't answer him because she had already run ahead of the group and was quickly scouting for a sewer access point. She didn't want to waste any time. She'd miss seeing the Squall and Rinoa show. It was pretty good to HEAR about it later from Rinoa, but SEEING it would be a million times better. The Squall and Rinoa show was her favorite romantic comedy/drama/tragedy. Well hopefully not a tragedy. Squall would prevent it from becoming a tragedy. Well at least he'd prevent it from becoming a tragedy for Rinoa. He kinda already was a personal tragedy, but he was used to that.

* * *

End of Chapter 18

I already have 3 thousand words for the next chapter, but I thought this was a good stopping point. Get ready for some sewer fighting!


	19. Chapter 19

Newlywed Game - Chapter 19

Squall dove to avoid being struck. His shoulder hit the concrete hard as he rolled to the side while the giant insect's leg sliced through the air above his head. He popped up and jumped back before the monster had a chance to attack him again. His gunblade glinted in the dim sewer light as he swung it back into a two-handed ready position. His sweaty hair fell into his eyes and he flicked his head to get a better view of the sewer monster. Angelo growled while staying several paces behind him, and he was glad that the dog left the majority of the fighting up to him. He couldn't have the dog getting hurt, especially not now when they were hot on Rinoa's trail. Squall didn't like fighting the Grand Mantis alone, but it wasn't that bad. It just took longer than he would have liked. He could do it, but he just wished that he had the protection of his leather jacket to defend himself from scrapes. At least he was junctioned.

The mantis struck out at him again and he carefully side-stepped it. He was trying to be mindful of where he stepped, he didn't want to fall down into the sewer water. It looked clean, at least for a sewer, but he didn't want to be in a vulnerable position. And he certainly didn't want any of his cuts and scrapes exposed to the water. Basic SeeD training underscored the importance of keeping wounds clean to prevent infection. A nasty bacterial infection could eventually take down a fighter just as well as a bullet could.

He narrowed his eyes and got ready. The mantis was hurt and he couldn't keep this up forever. Any moment now and this would be over. At least that's what he hoped. This fight felt like it had gone on forever, it would have gone much faster if his friends were with him.

The agitated mantis got ready to do a strong strike at Squall. It lunged and brushed past Squall's chest as he lightly dodged sideways. While the mantis was briefly off balance, Squall got ready and swung his gunblade while pulling the trigger. There was a burst of power and a bright flash of gunpowder igniting as he cut through two of the mantis' legs. They went flying into the water with a splash. The giant insect tried to scurry away, but ended up falling into the water. It got pulled down into the stream. Squall watched it go under with relief. Angelo barked excitedly.

 _Giant bug gets flushed down the drain,_ he thought.

He wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his gloves and winced. He looked down at himself. Some of his gunblade sparks had burned the bare skin on his arms. A gunblade was more powerful than a regular sword, but it had its drawbacks. Mainly the drawbacks were difficulty in handling and getting your body barbequed repeatedly from blowback. Squall usually wore his heavy leather jacket for that reason. People thought he and Seifer had worn coats and gloves to stand out from the other cadets, but as the only serious gunblade students, they'd worn them for extra protection. Too bad he'd left his coat in Balamb because it was still summertime. It would have looked very out of place on somebody like Walter River.

 _I'm glad I'll be saying goodbye to him soon._

Squall stretched out and then continued walking down the sewer corridor with Angelo. He could handle the burns. There was always time to heal later.

* * *

Squall and Angelo had been in the sewers for hours, but they eventually came to a spot with a ladder. They'd passed many ladders and ways to get out of the sewer system, but each time Angelo had continued onward. However, this time was different.

Angelo let out a small whine, followed by several short barks. She lifted her paw in the air delicately.

 _Is this where they took Rinoa?_ he thought.

"Did Rinoa go this way?" Squall asked the dog seriously.

Angelo did not respond.

"Rinoa?" he repeated while feeling stupid. "Did Rinoa go up the ladder?" Squall asked with his voice becoming high pitched at the end. He hoped the dog knew he was asking her a question. "Rinoa? Ladder?" he repeated in cutesy type voice he'd heard Rinoa and Selphie using when talking to Angelo. It usually got a response from the animal. His mouth felt weird at his first try at cutesy baby talk. He was glad nobody was around to hear him.

The dog looked up at him and cocked her head to the side.

 _I feel so dumb having a conversation with a pet._

Feeling awkward while talking with very young cadets was one thing, but here he was trying to communicate with a dog. Even though he wasn't generally comfortable with talking, at least a small child was human. And children in the Garden system were usually attentive and well trained.

 _Angelo is attentive and well trained._

"Rinoa?" he repeated while patting the dog on her head. She began sniffing the area and started whining and barking again. The dog seemed excited.

 _The dog seems to be sure of herself. I guess I should check this out._

Squall looked up the ladder. It was a long way up to get back to street level. He picked up Angelo and gripped the ladder firmly before he started their ascent. It was difficult enough going down a ladder while holding a larger sized dog, and going up was even harder. Squall grunted while trying to pull himself up. Juggling a squirming dog with a gunblade on his hip was not an easy way to climb a ladder. Squall pulled himself up another rung. Angelo whimpered.

"It's fine girl. We're getting Rinoa," he hoped the dog thought he sounded reassuring.

It was hard holding a dog. If Angelo had been a cat, at least Squall could have been assured that the animal would be able to cling by her claws. The poor dog didn't have that sort of clinging and climbing ability. She was completely at Squall's mercy and had to trust that he wouldn't drop her.

Squall felt sorry for the animal and tried to climb in a slow and smooth motion. The dog didn't need to be any more scared than she probably was. Squall looked up and saw that there was still a long way to go.

"Almost there girl," he lied in a soft and soothing voice.

Did it count as lying if it was to an animal? Could the dog even tell what he was saying? He wasn't sure, but giving the illusion of calm control was something leaders were meant to do. Did animals operate like humans? Maybe. Probably. People wanted to have trust in their superiors. It helped the chain of command. The ultimate burden of responsibility fell to the people at the top, and they couldn't let people down. It was a gruelingly tough job for a person who still had a conscience. Maybe that's why so many people at the top had killed theirs long ago. It was just easier that way.

Squall took a deep breath while momentarily halting their ascent. He looked down and saw the cement far below. They'd gained in height. They were making their way to the top slowly but surely. Maybe his earlier fib wasn't really a lie. They were almost there. No matter how slow you go, you'll get there if you don't give up. He reached out and grabbed the next rung and pulled. They were well on their way.

* * *

"Zell, stop being so loud! You're attracting all the monsters down here!" Selphie said while killing a Creeps with her giant nunchaku. She did a little victory hop while slinging her weapon behind her.

"Yea, you're one to talk Selphie!" Zell complained while looking down at the handheld device that was helping them track Squall. "And I wasn't being THAT LOUD!"

Another batch of Creeps rounded the corner. This time they had some Red Bats with them. Irvine let out a slow and tired whistle. He pulled out his shotgun and took aim. Hopefully he'd be able to take out a few while they were still long distance foes. He clucked his tongue at his loud friends.

"Everybody, just try to be as quiet as possible. These monsters keep slowing us down. We want to be able to catch up with Squall before he does anything drastic. I don't want any of these kidnappers to get away while he's saving Rinoa," Quistis explained while uncoiling her whip.

The sudden blast from Irvine's gun echoed off the sewer walls. Quistis turned her head towards Irvine with a sigh.

"The monsters already know we're here darlin'," Irvine explained as he took aim again. "I didn't know you wanted me to bring a silencer." Another blast went off, but this time Quistis covered her ears.

"You're always supposed to be prepared Kinneas," Quistis said while getting ready for the monsters to come within range. "That's basic SeeD training."

"I'm not really a SeeD, now am I?" he said while aiming his shotgun.

"You could be," Quistis said with a smile, "with a little bit of polishing up."

His shotgun blasted again. A red bat screeched and died, falling into the sewer water.

"Irvy's so cool!" Selphie sang. She did a little spin and a fist pump before unleashing a blast of magic at one of the Creeps. "See Irvy! I'm good at long distance stuff too," she said with a wink at Irvine. He nodded his head at her. Maybe their squabbling was finally starting to cool off now that they both were out in the world killing things again. Maybe that's what their relationship needed. Occasional violence.

"Great job," Zell said. "I'll let you guys handle these things. I don't want to drop my electronics in the water or smash them up before we catch up to Squall."

"Hee hee, Zell that's funny," Selphie said while spinning her nunchaku.

"I'm not joking!" Zell said. "If this thing gets busted, what are we gonna do? But don't worry, once we catch Squall I'll be able to... um... be less careful, if you know what I mean?"

"I sure do! Bam! Pow! Zap!" Selphie yelled.

"Um, maybe not so much of the 'zap' part," Zell explained. "I'm not the best at magic."

"We know," Irvine muttered under his breath.

"Aw, don't feel bad Zelly!" Selphie said reassuringly. "With cool blond hair and awesome muscles like yours, you don't have to know anything!"

"Thanks Selph... HEY!" Zell yelled while looking up from his handheld device.

"Oh, I meant it as a compliment," she explained. "I was just trying to tell you how hot you are! I mean, not everybody has such great muscle tone as you do Zell... as I've discovered firsthand."

Irvine turned and glared at Selphie while tipping his hat back. "Hey!" Irvine said. "Don't go hurtin' my feelings now sugar."

"What? I didn't name any names here Irvy. I don't know why you assumed I was talking about you," Selphie said innocently. "Although, you could hit the gym with Zell sometimes if you wanted to. Maybe learn some things and build some muscles."

"Pfft, I don't need to go to the gym honey. Squall doesn't go to the gym," Irvine said while blasting at a black and shadowy Creeps.

"Yea, well he doesn't really need to though. I mean his gunblade weighs a ton and he's always swinging it around at Grats and T-rexaurs in the Training Center. Plus, I can't imagine him hanging around a place as packed as the gym if he could help it," Selphie said. She took a moment's pause before continuing. "Wait! I know! If you don't want to train with Zell. Maybe Squall can teach you how to use a gunblade! You know, just for fun," Selphie said encouragingly.

"Sefie, why are you hurting me so? I'll never use a gunblade. I could never abandon my beloved guns and ammo."

"But you're halfway there. See GUNS... GUNblades! Almost the same thing... except with MUSCLES," she said. "They both need ammunition even!"

"But Squall shoots blanks," Zell explained while keeping his eyes down on his electronics.

Irvine let out a loud snort. He was about to build upon Zell's comment, but Zell continued the conversation in another direction, unaware of what he just said.

"Don't be scared Irvine. I can help you out. I can blast your quads, rip those pecs, tone those arms. No prob man," Zell said. "We can rock out together with some loud music and it'll be great."

Irvine gave a long whistle of disbelief and sighed.

Quistis gripped the sides of her head. This mission had gone on long enough, and being slowed down by sewer monsters wasn't helping. Deling City really needed to allocate more of its budget for general pest control.

* * *

Squall pulled himself and Angelo out the sewer and narrowed his eyes at the light. He'd been down in the there for hours. Since it was later in the day, there was less light, but it was still bright, especially as his eyes had grown accustomed to the dim sewers.

He assessed his surroundings. He'd never been to this part of Deling City. It looked like an industrial area with many factories. And the factories didn't appear to be in the best repair. Some were abandoned looking. He didn't see anybody nearby. This was the only spot in Deling City where he hadn't heard the bustle of traffic and people. It was like a ghost town.

He reached down and gave Angelo a quick pat. He hoped the dog had led him in the right direction. It felt right to his heart, but it also made sense to the analytical part of his mind. If he were a criminal, this would be a good place to hide out.

He dusted off his hands on his dark jeans and looked down at himself. He had a gunblade on his hip and he was wandering around the city with a dog. This didn't look good to a passerby. He needed to take cover. Squall quickly walked to the shade of a nearby alleyway to assess his situation.

He eyed several of the nearby businesses and factories. Were they all abandoned? He didn't notice any activity, but maybe the day's shift was over. Maybe they weren't the sort of factories that worked around the clock.

His eyes caught onto a building further down the street that had some boarded up windows. Some of the window panes just had jagged pieces of broken glass in them. That looked promising for a hideout. He kept to the shadows and crept closer. His heart beat wildly in his chest. Was Rinoa nearby? Was she in that building? Was he almost there?

* * *

Rinoa sat up in the darkness and let out a small groan. She'd slept fitfully. The pain in her head was troubling her and she was so thirsty. She would have thought the kidnappers would have taken better care of her. Didn't they want their ransom?

 _I guess I only have to be kept alive. That's probably why the women were in such bad shape when they got dumped. They hadn't been given much food or water for days and then got a beating. I'm not looking forward to that. If they survived it, I can too... probably._

It felt like it had been hours, or maybe days since she tried to call Squall to herself. She wished she could do something other than wait to be rescued. She felt like a helpless princess in a storybook, an old storybook before they started writing women as being strong characters. Quistis would make a good modern storybook princess. Rinoa sighed at her helplessness.

 _I'm a helpless princess who has to wait to be rescued. I suck at everything!_

Rinoa tried to envision herself being a powerful sorceress that didn't need anybody's help. Very powerful. Then a vision of Ultimecia came to her.

 _Um, too powerful. Not like that. Maybe something completely unrelated to magic._

Rinoa tried to envision herself as a powerful PERSON. Just a regular person. What would a regular person do in this position? She sat up and tried to look around the room, but it was pitch black. It was either nighttime, she was underground, or she was in an interior room someplace. She didn't know where. For all she knew, she was in D-District prison underneath all the sand out there. The thought at being buried there caused her stomach to turn. She wanted out! She wanted out NOW! Fear flooded her.

 _Squall! Squall!? Are you there? Can you hear me? Please hurry! I'm scared! Squaaaaall!_

* * *

Squall's head snapped up. He felt a strange pull towards the old building he was looking at.

"Girl, can you track Rinoa from here?" he asked Angelo. "Find Rinoa," he commanded tentatively. The dog had understood before. Hopefully she hadn't lost Rinoa's scent.

The dog kept sniffing at the ground and stood pointing towards the direction Squall was looking. It seemed to be confirmation.

 _How can I break in there without being noticed?_

Squall continued to creep up towards the building. He wished this was the middle of the night. It would be that much easier to be stealthy, but maybe the criminals were only active at night. Then it would be best that he was here during the later part of the day. Maybe he could grab Rinoa without them noticing or even waking up. If the situation was different he would wait around and do some surveillance before charging it, but he didn't have time to lose.

 _Not that I know for sure that this is the right place, or that they are here._

Squall noticed there was a heavy metal door with a chain and a padlock at the front of the building. It was too exposed and too secure. Maybe he'd be able to sneak in by a more vulnerable entryway. He slipped past the main entrance and lightly jogged to the side of the building before coming around the back. He kept himself scrunched down besides dumpsters and large pieces of equipment. He didn't want to get spotted by anyone. He needed the element of surprise. He saw a second floor window that hadn't been securely boarded up. Planks of wood had been nailed against the partially broken window, but it wasn't the best job. Squall could probably pry it open with a small amount of effort. But how would he get up there?

He looked towards a nearby dumpster. It didn't look like it would give him enough height. His eyes scanned the area. There were several wooden pallets in a pile. He went to grab a few and silently stacked them on top of the dumpster. The added height would help him greatly. After a few minutes. he felt that it was tall enough, and he pushed Angelo up onto it. He quickly hoisted himself up as well. He felt incredibly exposed. He needed to work quicker. Squall climbed up onto the pallets and pulled himself up onto the ledge. He began to pry at the wooden boards with his gunblade. A wooden board creaked and fell down with a thud. He swore under his breath. The next board came off easier and he caught it before it fell loudly. He took his gloved hand and knocked out the remaining sharp pieces of glass and winced at the high pitched tinkling sounds it made as it fell inside.

Once the window was cleared, he climbed back down to grab Angelo. He picked up the dog awkwardly and managed to shove her inside. He quickly followed her.

Squall fell onto the floor of the empty room and stifled a cough against the dustiness. He was inside. Now all he had to do was search the place to see if Rinoa was there. 'If' was a pretty scary word. If she wasn't here, where was she?

* * *

Rinoa's flash of panic was ebbing away. It was replaced by a feeling of calm. Everything would be okay. She kept feeling more certain of that. It would be okay eventually. It always had been that way before. And if it wasn't, she always had her wildly uncontrolled sorceress powers. That was going to be her last resort. She didn't want to start a fire she couldn't put out.

Something brushed the back of her mind. It felt familiar. Tense worry. Meticulous thoughts.

 _Squall is that you?_

The feeling faded, but she was sure it was there. Pretty sure.

Her shoulders ached, but just thinking of her friends coming for her was making her feel better. She was still scared, but it was more manageable. They were SeeDs, they'd be able to find her. Even if she was under the desert sands. She laid her throbbing head back down onto the cold floor and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Quistis jogged lightly at the head of the group. Her boot heels clacked on the damp concrete, resonating loudly throughout the sewers.

"Let's hurry. Hopefully we'll be catching up with Squall soon," she said. Her troops needed their spirits bolstered. Hanging around for hours in a dark underground sewer was enough to dampen anybody's spirits. At least that's the way Quistis felt. She was still pretty miffed at Squall, her phony husband, running away from her, and emotionally this wasn't her best day.

Although Quistis viewed the day as being less than optimal, not everybody was having a dreary time being in a sewer. Selphie was doing just fine. She liked friends and adventures. Pretending to be a newlywed was a lot of fun, but she could have fun anywhere. It was all in the way a person viewed things. She CHOSE to have fun. She CHOSE to be happy. She CHOSE to keep a smile on her face. She CHOSE to not punch Irvine in his pretty cowboy face when she saw him flirting with other women. Happiness was attainable for everybody, they just had to reach out and grab it. And she'd learned to grab onto things and not let go. So when any opportunity for happiness came along, she had chosen to grab it and hold it so tight that it'd never get away from her. That's why she'd chosen to view their little jaunt through the sewers as a fun and happy friendship time.

"Hey Zell, wait up," Selphie said sweetly while creeping up behind Zell.

"Selphie stop trying to read the screen behind me. It makes me CRAZY!" Zell said.

"But Zell, I just wanna help you do your job. And we haven't had to fight off any monsters for a while. I'm getting really bored here," Selphie said while twirling her nunchaku around her playfully.

"Yea, where'd all the monsters go?" Irvine asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"It's a good thing monsters aren't slowing us down," Quistis said. "We're covering a lot of ground."

"It's kinda creepy not seeing any monsters. It's like they are waiting to pop out from the shadows or from behind a corner. BOO!" Selphie yelled into Zell's ear, causing him to jump. "Although that probably just means we're really catching up to Squall. He's probably cleared out this section of the sewer recently. We're just traveling in his wake."

Quistis abruptly stopped and turned towards the group. "Selphie makes a good point. Zell how is our progress?"

Zell stopped and leaned against the sewer wall. He hunched over the screen and furrowed his blond eyebrows while humming to himself.

"We've almost caught up to him. Actually, we should even be in earshot, but that's weird that we haven't heard or seen him yet. Wait, gimme a minute," Zell said while sprinting down another corridor. "Seriously, where'd Leonhart go? We should be seeing him by now, but he's not here. Is this thing acting up again?"

Selphie had been racing after Zell when he'd run ahead of the group. When Zell raised his head from looking at his electronic device he had to dodge Selphie's grabby hands.

"HEY! Hands off of my equipment Selphie!" Zell yelled while guarding his tracker.

"You're doing it wrong!" Selphie complained.

Irvine let out a loud groan and pulled his hat over his eyes. His friends were really too much sometimes.

"Just give it here Zell. I'm trying to HELP YOU!" Selphie said with insistence.

Zell took a step back and tried to dodge Selphie's quick moving arms. All of a sudden it seemed like they were everywhere. They were weaving and darting like a pair of fast moving snakes trying to bite their prey. If she were a Galbadian solder, Zell would have just punched her lights out, but unfortunately she was Selphie. Zell was a gentleman and would never punch a lady. Well, he wouldn't unless he were ordered to do so on a SeeD mission. Then he pretty much had to follow orders. He couldn't hit her, but he could grab her until she calmed down. At least calmed down back to her usual Selphie baseline.

Zell swiped out his free hand and grabbed her by the wrist. Finally she'd stop trying to grab his stuff. Zell smiled at having caught Selphie, but it was short lived. Selphie reached with her free hand and swatted at his electronic device, knocking it from his hand. Time seemed to slow down as it plummeted towards the unforgiving concrete below. Zell's jaw dropped open in horror.

Selphie's soft leather boot popped up and gently cradled the tracker like a hackeysack. She picked up her leg and easily grabbed it with her other hand.

"Thanks so much Zell!" she chirped at him while eagerly looking down at the screen. "Let's see what we have here. You were probably just reading this thing wrong."

Selphie was quiet for a moment while looking at the map on the tracker. "Mmm..." she hummed while nodding her head.

By that time Irvine and Quistis had caught up with Zell and Selphie.

"Sefie, what'd you find out? What's going on?" Irvine asked.

"Mmm, yeah. That's interesting," she said.

"What's interesting?" Irvine asked, getting impatient.

"Yep, it says Squall should be right here," she said while tapping her finger to the screen loudly.

"That's what I said!" Zell said while shaking his fists in a rage. "Why didn't you just believe me?"

Quistis ignored her friends' constant bickering. She had to get this mission done.

"If that's the case. This is what happened before. He's in this spot, but at another level. Which leads me to believe that he's already exited the sewers," Quistis reasoned calmly. "That means it's time to climb out of here."

Quistis looked towards the nearest ladder system. It seemed as likely as any that it had been the ladder Squall had recently used.

"Let's get a move on," she instructed.

Quistis wasted no time beginning the long climb out of the sewers. Irvine was about to follow her before he paused thoughtfully.

"Sefie darling, ladies first," he said while tipping his hat.

Selphie let out a little giggle at Irvine's gallant consideration. "You're so sweet Irvy!" she cooed at him. She quickly bounced in front of him and began climbing up after Quistis.

Zell rolled his eyes at Irvine while pocketing his tracker so that he could use both hands to climb up the ladder. He looked up curiously to see how far they had to climb when he saw a somewhat familiar sight. Selphie's underpants were yet again on full display as she was climbing the ladder. Irvine hadn't been gentlemanly at all when he'd insisted that she climb up the ladder first. He was just making sure he was getting an eyeful. Selphie had been getting on Zell's nerves, but this was just NOT RIGHT for Irvine to do to an unsuspecting girl.

"Hey!" Zell yelled while clapping his hand on Irvine's shoulder. "I see what you're doing here. Trying to sneak a peek up Selphie's dress." He pulled Irvine back to the ground angrily. "You're a perv Irvine. You can climb up after me."

Selphie stopped climbing and peered down at Irvine and Zell.

"But then you'll be looking up her dress Zell," Irvine said quietly.

"What!?" Selphie yelled while somehow catching only the quiet part of their conversation. "Zell can see up my dress?" She reached down with one hand and attempted to pull down her dress so that it covered her more completely, but it was an impossible task.

"NO!" Zell yelled. "I mean... YES I can see up your dress, but I'm not doing it on purpose it's just that..."

"Irvy!" Selphie yelped in alarm.

"You're upsetting my wife," Irvine said lightly to Zell while clapping him on the shoulder. "Why don't you just give me my place back and we can all climb up out of here nicely?"

Zell's jaw fell open and his nostrils flared in disgust. "Fine! What do I care? Ladies first," Zell said while letting Irvine cut in front of him.

Irvine quickly mounted the ladder and was on his way to catching up with Selphie.

"Ooof! Irvy, be careful. Your cowboy hat just rammed me in the butt. Could you slow down and give me some space?"

"Oops, so sorry," Irvine said while giving a glare and wink down at Zell.

"Aaah! Irvy, you're doing it again," Selphie complained.

"My mistake doll," he said apologetically.

Zell decided to keep his mouth shut and his head down and just climb the ladder so he could get out of the sewers. He shook his head. He just couldn't really understand the relationship that Selphie and Irvine had. He missed hanging out with Squall and Rinoa. Hopefully they'd catch up to each other soon. He'd had his fill of Selphie and Irvine for the day, week, or even year.

* * *

Squall's heart raced as he quietly crept through the old factory. It was apparently abandoned, as he hadn't seen or heard evidence of a single human being. His eyes were adjusting to the low level lighting gradually. There weren't many windows in the building, and most of them were completely blacked out or boarded up, with only a few exceptions. The main exception was the poorly boarded up window that he'd recently pried his way into. The section he was currently in had several empty offices, but he didn't find anything that pointed to Rinoa or the kidnappers in these rooms. He had to keep searching.

Angelo sensed Squall's mood and was staying as quiet as possible. The dog was smart. Only very faint clips of her nails could be heard on the sealed concrete floor, but that couldn't be helped. Squall proceeded silently with the dog not far behind him.

The hallway he'd been sneaking down opened up to a large interior space. He was on the second floor of the building, so when he left the hallway there was a wraparound balcony to oversee the main floor. It appeared that this was a factory or some kind, as there were large steel machines, conveyor belts, wooden pallets, and large cardboard boxes scattered everywhere.

He couldn't tell what the factory had originally been used for. He inhaled deeply. The heavy smell of oil, metals, and plastics filled his nostrils. This factory possibly made industrial parts or something similar once. The smells told him that it certainly wasn't a candy factory. Could Angelo even track Rinoa's scent anymore now that they were inside?

The dim lighting made the entire factory floor seem like a shadowy abyss. The strange shapes of machines mixed within the darkness, and it was hard to see the edges of things when he was unsure of what he was looking at. He'd have to be careful down there.

Squall dropped into a crouch and grabbed onto the metal handrail that wrapped around the balcony. Just in case there were people nearby, he didn't want to be seen. His eyes scanned the area methodically while looking for possible hiding places, escape routes, and other tactical layouts if he happened to come across somebody to fight. He always had to be prepared, especially as his only backup was Angelo.

 _Where would they hide a person?_ He worried to himself.

His eyes settled on a large square structure at the other end of the factory on the ground level. It was in the darkest section. He saw that there was a door and no windows. A person could be easily cornered there. There would be no windows and no easy way to escape. A person would have to run through the whole factory and be exposed just to exit the building. It was a vulnerable place.

Squall knew that was the next place he had to check. He looked over his shoulder and surveyed the area. It was eerily silent. He reached out and felt the handle of his gunblade for reassurance. It would be there if necessary. He slowly raised himself into a standing position and walked softly towards the metal stairway to descend onto the factory floor.

Once his feet hit the sealed and polished concrete, his level of excitement went up. He felt that this was the right way to go. He was almost there. He kept to the darker shadows and perimeter of the floor and proceeded quickly and cautiously to the room at the other end of the factory. His blood thrummed in his veins. He felt like he was floating. In no time at all his hand was touching the knob. He cautiously tried to turn it, but it was locked. His breath huffed softly in his throat at his disappointment, but the fact that it was locked was promising. Why would it be locked if nothing of importance was inside?

Squall reached into his pocket and pulled out a small set of tools. Lock picking was a basic skill for SeeD candidates, and this one appeared to be simple. He quickly used the tools and got the lock to release. A small metal ping was proof that he could now enter. After hastily putting the tools in his pocket, he reached out and slowly turned the knob with a shaking hand. He slowly pushed the door inwards , but through the small gap he saw nothing but darkness.

 _Cats can see in the dark, can dogs?_ he thought to himself. He guarded the fragile but intense feeling of hope within him. He was scared that the room would be empty, and scared that this would be a dead end.

His heart beat in his chest and he started to open the door. Angelo couldn't wait for Squall's cautiousness, and she pushed the door wide open with her nose and rushed into the dark room. Squall quickly followed, while leaving the door slightly ajar behind him. He needed some light to see what he was doing. He could hear Angelo jumping on something before sniffing and licking. Squall's eyes adjusted to see a lumpy shape on the ground. The lump let out a small moan as Angelo kept licking it.

 _Rinoa!?_

As if in answer, the person let out a whimper.

Squall fell forward onto his knees while he heart hammered in his chest wildly. He grabbed at the person who was laying on the ground. His hands brushed past long soft hair and rough scratchy ropes. She was tied up and if the moaning was any indication, very hurt.

Squall licked his dry lips and let out in a small voice, "Rinoa?" His voice cracked and broke with disuse. He cleared his throat and said, "Rinoa?" again louder while gently trying to lift her into a sitting position. "Rinoa, please be okay."

 _This must be Rinoa, and Rinoa has to be okay. She has to be._

He wished he could see better in the dark room. He wished he had definitive visual proof that it was Rinoa, but his heart told him that it was her anyways.

Ideally, he shouldn't move a wounded person before knowing the extent of the injuries, but he was planning on grabbing her and running out of the building and never stopping. If that could even be called a plan. He hadn't thought past that part.

Squall grabbed at the ropes that bound her wrists and legs and tried to undo them. They were tightly binding her to a chain on the wall, and he wasn't able to loosen them.

 _We've got to get out of here quickly. Better make sure she's okay enough to move without hurting her._

Squall ripped off his leather gloves and stuffed them into his pockets. He reached out and felt the smoothness of her face. It was unnaturally hot. He ran his hands around to the back of her head and felt a large lump that was surrounded by sticky flakes. The metallic smell let him know that it was crusted blood near her head wound. She let out a hiss in response to his probing, and tried to jerk away from him.

The fact that he was inadvertently hurting her pained him, but he needed to assess her injuries. He brushed his cool fingertips across her face and felt hot wetness begin to run across his fingers. He should make sure she was safe first, then he could soothe her, and not the other way around. He didn't want to waste any time, but it was tempting to linger slightly longer than necessary.

 _Calming her down is important,_ he tried to convince himself.

Against his better judgment, he pulled her close to his chest and briefly brushed his face across her hair. The faded yet familiar scent of her perfume amongst all the blood and industrial factory smells made his heart break.

"It's okay," he tried to say in a soothing voice. "We're going to get out of here."

She seemed pretty disoriented due to her injury, and he had conflicting emotions. He was overjoyed at having found Rinoa, but he was filling up with intense anger at the people who had done this to her. He'd known of these criminals since Caraway had contacted him in his Commander's office many weeks ago with the mission information, but knowing facts on paper and then seeing the damage they did in person were very different. How could anybody do this to another human? He was enraged.

Squall gently laid Rinoa back down on the ground and grabbed at his gunblade. He'd have to cut through the ropes with his weapon. It was manageable but he'd have to be very careful not to cut her. Angelo trotted over to her face and gave her a few licks while letting out a small and insistent whimper. Squall was glad that Angelo was distracting Rinoa from what he was doing. He doubted she'd be happy to see his gunblade's edge so close to her skin, especially with such poor lighting. He was careful, and it was over quickly.

After cutting through the ropes, he started pulling them away from her wrists and ankles. Her arms and legs fell free like dead weight. He started massaging them to restore some semblance of normal blood flow. It couldn't be comfortable for her. He cast a simple cure spell to take away some of the pain. It was good enough for a field spell, but she'd have to see a doctor once they got out of there.

The relief of the cure spell along with the feeling of pins and needles brought Rinoa back to her senses. The panic of having dead weight for limbs made her flail widely. Her breath caught in fear as she thought her attackers and captors had come back to torment her.

"Rinoa, I'm here," he whispered without stopping working on her legs.

She let out a huge sigh of relief while trying to sit up. She quickly fell back down as a wave of nausea overcame her.

"Squall?" she said breathlessly with eagerness in her weak voice.

"Yes," he answered while continuing to rub at her legs.

"Squall!" she croaked painfully while trying to reach out and grab him. Her arms were still asleep and not moving properly. She was disoriented and thirsty. "I was so scared! Everything hurts. But I knew you'd come... I knew... I knew it..." she said while starting to cry. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I deserve this. I was stupid..." she mumbled the words, more than said them.

Squall stopped rubbing her limbs.

"Don't call yourself stupid," he said while gripping her upper arms tightly. "You didn't deserve this. The kidnappers are at fault, not you."

 _Although you should have stayed in Balamb Garden like I told you to,_ he thought secretly to himself.

He let go and then started massaging her legs again.

The stiffness was slowly working itself out of her body. Blood was finally getting to all her extremities. She could move carefully if she concentrated, and her head was clearing. She wasted no time in gingerly wrapping her arms around him and pressing her wet face into his neck.

"Thanks for rescuing me," she said with a sniffle.

He made a sharp noise with his mouth. "You aren't rescued yet. Just because I'm here doesn't mean you're rescued."

"It feels like it," she answered. "Squall is here, THEREFORE, everything will be okay."

 _It must be nice to have such faith in others_ , he thought to himself while continuing to rub at her legs.

He could carry her out of here, but it would be best if she could walk or even run. Especially if he needed to fight. Fighting with Rinoa on his back wasn't the easiest thing to do, but he'd attempted it before.

Rinoa sat there numbly while Squall tried to get her arms and legs working again. He always had to do everything for her, and sometimes it made her embarrassed.

"I'm always needing to be rescued. I'm know I'm such a bother to you. I should learn how to rescue myself someday, huh? I'm totally a worthless waste of space," she said.

She let out a small hiccup and more tears began to fall. Angelo nudged at her and whimpered. The dog pawed at her in distress.

"Even Angelo has to help rescue me."

"Stop. Just stop," Squall said louder than he meant to.

Although he didn't like hearing her put herself down, he took her crankiness as a positive sign. She was moving and thinking enough to make comments like these. She'd probably be ready to leave in a minute.

"Do you think you can stand soon? I can help you out of here, but I want to make sure you're okay first."

Rinoa clumsily wiped some of the tears off her face while trying to stand. Her legs felt like jelly, but she was improving. The circulation in her arms and legs had been mostly restored. She slowly raised herself up with Squall's help. Her feet stomped on the ground quietly as she stretched out her back.

"Oooh, I'm a bit dizzy," she said.

"You can lean on me, but it's important we get out of here now. Stay close."

Angelo kept nudging at her leg. The dog's whimpers were going unheeded by her owner.

Rinoa reached out and wrapped her arms around Squall. She buried her face into his chest.

"Rinoa, we have to leave. We can do this later," he explained while delicately trying to remove her sore arms from himself. She wasn't making this easy for him.

"You always say stuff like that. I don't believe you. Aren't you happy to see me now? I've been missing! Shouldn't you be happy?" She tried to lean in for a kiss, but he pulled away from her in annoyance.

 _Squall?_ she thought at him while grabbing onto his arms.

"I'll be happy to get out of here," he said in a harsh whisper. "I keep telling you that you haven't been rescued yet. In case you didn't notice, we are still in the middle of a criminal hideout."

 _Squall? Just a little kiss?_

 _Rinoa please,_ he answered in his head.

"We need to hurry," he said aloud as she brought her hands up to his face.

 _Stop it Rinoa, we need to get going,_ he thought at her.

"Okay, but I'm still wobbly," Rinoa said in disappointment.

 _Oh Squall..._ she thought in irritation.

Squall finally pried her fingers off him, and tried to get her ready to walk.

"Let's get going. I'll lead the way. Don't worry, it'll be okay," he said right as the door floated open and a shadowy person burst in.

Angelo rushed at the intruder, but not before Squall took a strong hit across his back with a metal pipe. He fell to his knees, and without his support, Rinoa fell down on top of him while screaming.

End of Chapter 19

* * *

Author's Notes: Rinoa can be pretty distracting. Poor Squall didn't even hear anybody coming. They really should have listened to Angelo.


	20. Chapter 20

(Disclaimer: I'm not used to writing action, but I'm trying!)

Newlywed Game - Chapter 20

Quistis pulled herself out of the sewer and waited for the others to come out. One by one her friends emerged from the dark Deling City sewer system. It was always such a relief to get out of there, and she hoped she wouldn't have to go back anytime soon. Zell emerged last with his jaw rigidly set in irritation. Quistis had heard Zell and Irvine bickering, but she didn't catch what it was about. She hoped they'd be able to keep it to themselves. They really had to focus now.

"Zell, could you please tell us which way Squall went?" Quistis said while moving her team to a sheltered alleyway.

Once they were in the shadows Zell reached into his pocket and brought out his tracker. It didn't take much time for him to figure out where Squall had gone. He was quite close, only a little bit down the street. Zell wordlessly pointed towards the building to indicate where Squall most likely was.

Zell recoiled when he felt a light touch on his arm. He looked down and saw Selphie curling her arms around his bicep. He got ready for her to grab the tracker away from him again, and he was surprised when she didn't.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked softly while smiling sweetly up at him.

Was he mad at her? Yes and no. She was just being herself, and while Zell liked Selphie, sometimes she was too much to handle."

"Uh, no... Well, maybe a little," he answered. His anger suddenly burned away at her being self aware enough to even ask the question.

She leaned her head into him and said, "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I mean, I'm sorry that I doubted your technical abilities with this tracker thingy. I'm NOT sorry about saying how nice and muscular you are," she said while giving him arm a squeeze. "Woo, that's super nice!"

"Oh, uh yea," Zell said with his voice going up an octave. "Uh, Squall should be this way. Maybe let's go get him."

"Yes, let's," Quistis said coolly while giving Selphie a light nudge from behind. Selphie turned to look back at Quistis and gave her a little frown. She didn't like her muscle time being interrupted, but they did need to hurry, so she kept her mouth shut.

Everybody rushed down the street to approach the factory. The front of the building seemed locked so they proceeded to the back area. After a quick look around and noticing a newly broken second floor window, it was obvious to them where Squall had gained entrance. They climbed up onto the dumpster and slipped into the window. They were inside.

"Remember, the priority is to capture the criminals. This is a no-kill mission," Quistis reminded everybody quietly. "Keep your eyes open and don't let anybody get away."

"Yea, we know Quisty. Squall already has the Rinoa aspect of this mission covered," Selphie said. "I can't wait to see him rescue her. It's gonna be so romantic! Hurry up everybody! I don't want to miss it!"

"Selphie, remember we gotta be quiet now," Irvine whispered.

"Oops," she said while clapping her hand over the big smile plastered on her face.

They waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and then got ready to search the factory for evidence of the kidnappers. Selphie bounced on her heels in excitement.

A high pitched woman's scream from somewhere inside the factory stopped Selphie mid-bounce. Her smile melted off her face and she jumped into action. She burst out the door and ran into the darkness. Rinoa was getting hurt out there, and she had to help her friend.

* * *

Squall collapsed in pain as he felt a heavy impact wrack his body. Spots danced at the sides of his vision and his ears were ringing. Getting hit unaware from behind was the worst. He was glad that he'd been junctioned, otherwise he might have had fractures in his vertebrae and rib cage, maybe even internal bleeding. As it was, it just felt like heavy muscle damage, but he would be able to move in a minute.

He was vaguely aware of Rinoa's body falling on top of him and screaming. He had to get up, she couldn't cover him for a blow like he'd just gotten. She wasn't junctioned, she'd be severely hurt or worse. The whole reason he showed up like this was to protect her, not the other way around.

Squall became aware of the wet growling sounds of Angelo viciously attacking the man, but they were cut short by a loud thud. The dog's body slumped to the ground after being struck by the metal pipe. Would Angelo be able to get up? He didn't even want to think that she might be dead.

This wasn't how he'd envisioned Rinoa's rescue. Everybody was counting on him, he had to get up and find his gunblade. Where was it? He thought he left it on the floor next to where the pile of ropes were. It was hard to think, his mind was muddled. He drew in a labored breath as he felt Rinoa's shaking sobs through his back.

"No... no... please no..." she cried. The shock of hearing her beloved dog being hurt was adding to her anguish.

The man easily shoved Rinoa off of Squall's back. He could hear her frightened sobs as he felt his head wrench backwards. The man had grabbed him by the roots of his hair angrily.

"Who's this bastard?" the man said in a rough and gravelly voice. He hadn't anticipated somebody trying to rescue his hostage. All the other kidnapping situations had gone fairly smoothly. Sometimes the police weren't even notified. His gang only had to beat and release a handful of women to make a statement that they weren't to be messed with. They'd made quite a lot of money this way, for longer than the Deling City police even knew. This was different, and he didn't like this hitch in his easy money plan. None of the pampered rich guys had attempted anything like this. Solving things with money was what they were used to and it was what the criminals were wanting. They hadn't expected somebody to solve it with attempted stealth and violence. That wasn't the usual way of rich men who collected pretty, young wives. Who was this moron anyways? Was he hired? Or was the rich guy thinking he was some kind of kid's comic book super hero? He had to hand it to the guy, he'd found their hideout, so maybe he was a bit of an amateur detective. Was he a rich, eccentric guy who liked detective novels? Maybe.

"Hey you, come in here and hit the lights. I gotta see this guy." The man's voice was agitated, but he clearly thought that the fight was already over. A second person came into the room and turned on the light switch. Two large muscular men wearing black were briefly illuminated before the lone bulb overhead flickered and burned out. One of the men swore as he flicked uselessly at the light switch.

Squall smiled to himself dully in the dark, he was having trouble seeing, but so were they. They also didn't know who they were dealing with. Squall had just been attacked with a metal pipe. Most people would be completely incapacitated by this, but most people were not undercover junctioned SeeDs. These people had no idea what was about to go down.

Squall could barely see the glint of his gunblade edge in the near darkness. He silently reached towards it before feeling his bare hand grip its familiar handle. He slowly sucked in a breath while pulling himself up and swinging the gunblade into a ready position. His vision was still blurry from his earlier injury, but his head was clearing from the shock and pain. He reached out and swung his gunblade while pulling the trigger. The gunpowder ignited and briefly lit the room as he just barely missed slicing a chunk out of his attacker.

Squall knew this mission required capture not elimination, but at the moment he didn't care. All rational thought had gone out the window the moment that Rinoa was kidnapped. Anger was clouding his judgment. He could just hand the body parts over to Caraway and let the police identify the people later. He was so sick of this mission.

"What the hell was that?" yelled Squall's attacker as he jumped backwards.

The room was back in darkness, but the brief light by contrast had made the darkness even more complete.

Squall briefly heard a popping sound. There were a few bright bursts from the other end of the room. Squall felt a deep bite go into his left shoulder and something rip through the side of his leg. He'd been shot. After battling monsters from the Lunar Cry for so long, sometimes he forgot about the more conventional ways of violence.

He tilted backwards from the shock while grabbing at Rinoa and pushing her face down on the floor.

* * *

Selphie ran blindly towards the commotion while casting Protect on herself. Nameless metal machines filled the dark factory. It was very dangerous in there. The sound of her boots slapping on the factory floor echoed as she dodged and weaved around obstructions.

 _Ugh, so many super duper pointy metal thingamabobs!_ she thought while quickly twisting to the side to avoid being scraped by a big mechanical machine arm. _I'm glad I never had to work at a factory. Somebody could totally get KILLED in here!_

Gunshots echoed through the factory and Selphie felt an additional surge of adrenaline course through her veins.

 _Somebody better not have just hurt Rinny!_ she thought without even thinking that Squall could have taken the hits. Squall was too good, too methodical, too logical, and too careful to get hurt by some cowardly kidnapping pieces of garbage. But Rinoa was a magnet for trouble. She figured Squall was already there handling things, but Selphie fumed at the thought that Rinoa might have just been shot at. She had to HURRY. Too bad she didn't have any Haste stocked on her. She tried to speed up.

Suddenly there was a little tug on her leg and she felt like she was flying free. The air rushed by her and time slowed down. A brief memory of jumping off of playground swing sets came unbidden to her mind. The feeling would have been exciting fun if the next thing she knew she hadn't been the pain of her face and arms scraping the floor. The air got knocked out her lungs.

 _Ooopsie, I guess I wasn't careful and tripped on some of these metal doohickeys..._ she began to think as she was suddenly being hoisted up by a man who seemed to materialize out of the shadows. Her legs kicked in the air as she was lifted bodily off the ground. _Huh?_

He picked her up and threw her on the ground again. She let out a small screech at the surprise of it all. How'd she not even see this big burly guy in her way. Did he trip her? Did they know people were there to rescue Rinoa?

"How'd you get in here you little bitch?" the man rasped tiredly, but unafraid. Selphie did not seem like a threat to him. All he'd seen was her running through the factory like it was a playground at recess.

"Wait a sec! Did you just call me THE B-WORD?!" she said while getting to her feet and pulling out her giant nunchaku. It twirled through the air. "Why don't I turn some of the lights on in this gross dump and you try saying that to my face again!?" she yelled.

Selphie quickly called up a Thunder spell and it rang out through the factory. It stuck one of the nearby machines and the current flowed through the area and she felt its atmospheric buzz through the soles of her boots. Some of the factory lights started to flicker on and off and some of the machines briefly sprang to life from the jolt of electricity.

The man jumped reflexively behind another large metal machine. He only narrowly missed being hit by an arc of electricity that jumped between the metal machines of the factory. His brain didn't even process what had happened yet.

"Maybe once you see me, you won't feel like talking to me like that. Why don't you get a good look." she yelled while calling up an Aero spell and blasting out some of the boarded up windows. Wooden boards flew free and the sound of shattering glass was heard. Light was starting to filter inside now because of her destruction. She did it again and several more windows popped out. It was still dim, but much easier to see now.

"Hey guys, we're having an unique situation over here," the man yelled in fear. "I need some backup!"

Selphie started walking towards the man and getting ready to fry the machine he was hiding behind with Thundaga. After the giant lightning strike, the factory machines rumbled to life again, but this time they stayed powered for longer. Just as she felt the last of the spell leaving her fingers an impact to her kidneys sent her sprawling to the ground again. She was glad her earlier Protect spell had taken the edge off the strike.

"You men are unbelievable! I mean I know you don't respect women, but sneaking and ganging up on me. ME! A cute little helpless girl!" she yelled while swinging her nunchaku expertly and looking anything but helpless. "People like you make me SO MAD!"

She did a spin and brought her nunchaku out and hooked it completely around the man's neck who had assaulted her from behind. He gurgled at the pressure and lack of air. She tightened her grip.

"I ought to teach you jerks some manners" she said to her captive. She was so caught up in the moment that she had momentarily forgotten about the other man. He was quickly rushing up to her, but was stopped short when a shot rang out from the second floor walkway that was overlooking the factory floor.

The bullet narrowly missed the man and hit a machine instead, it sparked and bounced off dangerously.

Selphie twisted her head to see what was happening. A man was trying to stop her from choking his comrade, and she could see Irvine taking aim again from his high vantage point.

"Irvy! RICHOCHET! RICHOCHET! Don't hit me!" she yelled.

Irvine gave a fast wave before taking aim again. This time he hit the man in his thigh and he went down without a fuss.

Selphie's captive was turning blue, so she figured she shouldn't overdo herself. She loosened her strong grip and let him fall to the floor like a sack of bricks. She reached back into her pocket and took out some zip ties, and began to bind his arms and ankles.

"Okey-dokey, that's two down, and I don't know how many to go," she said.

* * *

Rinoa couldn't believe what was happening. Squall had just been shot, she didn't know where or how many times. Was he going to be okay?

 _This is all my fault! This is all my fault!_ she yelled in her head.

She'd felt weak before, but the pure hot rage that bubbled throughout her was revitalizing. Anger strengthened her. She had to act before Squall got a deadly wound.

 _If he hasn't already..._ she thought in a panic while looking down at Squall and Angelo's bodies.

The heat of anger fueled her. Blazing wrath built inside of her until she couldn't contain it. Sparks started flying off her that she couldn't control. A tiny spark ignited a trashcan full of paper in the far corner of the room, but nobody noticed as they were so entranced by what was happening to Rinoa.

The dark silhouettes of the men were backlit making them visible to Rinoa, she could see them better since the factory floor was much lighter than it had been a few moments ago. She didn't question where the light was coming from. She didn't question her lack of fear. She should have been afraid, Squall was on the floor, shot, and she was alone. But she wasn't. She was happy she could see them better. She'd spotted her prey. Her power, normally so hidden deep within her, was bubbling to the surface.

The surprised body language of the men was comical to her. They thought they could push without being pushed back, but they were wrong. She'd show them how wrong they were.

One of the man raised his gun at her dumbly, still in shock.

 _Stupid,_ she thought as a wind spell flew out of her and pushed them out of the room. The blasting air only provided much needed oxygen and fueled the burning paper in the corner of the room, but nobody saw as the trashcan fell over and a small fire started to spread.

* * *

Quistis and Zell ran out onto the factory floor.

"Don't let anybody get away," she yelled in a commanding voice. She felt she needed to remind her teammates of what the mission was about. They needed to capture these people and bring them to justice.

Quistis ran towards where Selphie was busy tying up the two men who had recently been taken down. Zell continued to jog towards the back of the factory where he heard a fight occurring. He wanted to help Squall get these guys.

He was glad Selphie had made it lighter in the factory. It had been hard to see before.

A man stepped out from behind a large stack of wooden pallets swinging a metal rod. Zell dodged easily while laughing at the man's clumsiness. The man swung again, but this time he grazed Zell's back pocket and a loud crunching sound alarmed Zell. He looked down as plastic and metal bits fell out of his pocket and rained down onto the factory floor.

"Aw man! My tracker! I'm gonna have to pay for that now!" Zell yelled.

He clenched his fist and retaliated. He punched the man in the stomach repeatedly until the man tried to take a swing at him. Zell jumped back easily. The hairs on the back of his neck started rising, and if his hair wasn't already defying gravity due to hair gel, it would be doing so now due to the electricity building in the air.

A thunder spell struck the space between Zell and the criminal, narrowly missing them both. He wondered if these guys had paramagic. That seemed unlikely, and he was confused.

"What the?!" Zell yelled out in surprise.

Selphie ran towards where Zell was fighting.

"Sorry! I was just trying to HELP YOU!" she called out.

"That was YOU?!" Zell yelled back.

Selphie really needed to be more careful, and he was insulted that she always thought he needed extra help. He was sick of being treated like he was the baby, just because he was the youngest and got upset a lot.

While Zell was being distracted by Selphie, the other man took the opportunity to attack. Zell dodged the strike without even needing to turn his head. After sidestepping the attack, Zell noticed a familiar looking neck tattoo peeking out of the man's shirt collar.

 _Where have I seen that before?_ Zell thought to himself before having a sudden realization.

"No frickin' way! This jerk lives in my building!" Zell yelled.

He now was very angry that a person who lived in his dingy apartment building was part of the kidnapping gang. Was that where they'd seen Rinoa? Did they see Squall visiting Rinoa too? Is that how they chose to grab her instead of another woman? All their careful SeeD planning, and this is what ended up happening?

"Aaaaah!" Zell yelled while deciding to seriously take this guy down.

He unleashed a series of gut punches to the man, until he doubled up with pain. Zell stepped back, wanting to make the fight last longer. The man's face had turned red, but he eventually caught his breath.

"Why don't you pick on somebody closer to your own size, instead of little Rinoa?" Zell taunted while hopping lightly on his feet in a boxer's pose.

The man narrowed his eyes and took another swing at Zell, and Zell decided to end the fight. As the man's arm flew past Zell, he reached out and grabbed the man's wrist easily. He twisted and turned and threw the man into a martial arts throw. The man's heavy body slammed into the factory floor with a loud thud. Within seconds, Zell had his knee in the man's back and was tying him up with a zip tie.

"You and your friends are SO going to pay for this," Zell whispered into the man's ear while cracking his knuckles.

"Got another one!" Zell yelled to the others while dusting off his hands and standing up.

"And I got TWO," Selphie said.

"Hey, that one guy counts as mine," Irvine declared.

"But I was fighting them both," Selphie said.

"Yea, but I shot him in the leg," Irvine clarified.

"Bring them over here," Quistis said.

"How many guys have you gotten Quisty?" Selphie asked while dragging a man towards Quistis.

"Focus everybody!" Quistis stressed.

As Zell reached down to grab the man, he wondered how many more could there be? They were going down pretty easily. Just to be on the safe side, he kept an eye out as he dragged the man across the floor. Too bad their cover had been blown, but he felt like their job was nearly done. These guys had evaded detection and capture long enough, and now was the day where they'd be brought in to the police. It was funny how only a few people could harass so many.

* * *

Squall slid to the ground, barely processing what was happening. He'd been shot. He was bleeding all over the floor, and Rinoa was blasting people with gusts of wind.

She stalked out of the room after the men in anger. Squall had to follow her. He grabbed at his shoulder, rose to his knees, and then got to his feet. He didn't want to draw attention to himself so he drank a potion to keep his strength up. Hopefully that would slow the bleeding for now.

Squall limped to the door, and stopped to lean on the door frame to see what was happening. A violent gust of wind pinned one of the criminals to a piece of heavy machinery. His legs dangled two feet off the ground. He didn't look like he'd be giving anybody any trouble in that state. Squall looked to see what Rinoa was doing to the other man.

She was in a rage and spinning the other man in a whirlwind. The display of magic was impressive. Squall had been helping train her since the war ended, and he'd never seen her do something like this. Actually, Squall had never seen anybody able to completely levitate a person like that with wind magic, and she wasn't even junctioned. It was fascinating. The man was spinning end over end and being whipped about, all while staying in roughly the same space. That took a lot of control. He respected the skill it took. He wondered if she'd be able to reproduce something like this if she hadn't become so stressed.

Squall's admiration of Rinoa's display of power was dampened because of the pain from his gunshot wounds and the irritating high pitched screaming coming from the man. The man's screams would have horrified Squall if he'd cared about his wellbeing, but he figured the criminal deserved at least that much distress. He'd had a hand in terrifying the women of Deling City for months, getting thrown around wasn't punishment enough. Not to mention he'd just been shot by the guy.

Squall continued limping out towards Rinoa. His main priority was her. He couldn't have her completely losing control, and he certainly didn't want the criminals to witness wings growing from her back. That would be hard to explain away as being SeeD paramagic.

 _I could always say it was a type of Float spell,_ Squall thought to himself, readying himself for the worst. As if being shot by a bunch of undisciplined criminals during a rescue attempt wasn't bad enough.

As Squall continued to approach Rinoa carefully, he wasn't surprised to see Selphie bounding towards them. She was waving her arms frantically in the air for Rinoa to notice her.

"Don't worry Rinny, we're here to save you!" Selphie said while running towards the enraged sorceress.

Rinoa continued to focus on the man in the whirlwind. If she even noticed that Selphie was in the factory with her, it didn't show on her face.

Selphie stopped abruptly and tried to push her hair out of her face, but it kept whipping around violently due to the extremely localized tornado that Rinoa was controlling.

"Rinny, please stop!" she yelled. "We're here to rescue you! We all came to rescue you together... uh kinda mostly together," she said while noticing Squall limping towards Rinoa with evidence of gunshots. The blood trail behind Squall made Selphie gasp. She'd seen some gory stuff during the war, but it had been a while since she'd seen one of her friends get hurt seriously.

She pulled up some curative magic and threw it in Squall's direction. Hopefully the magical healing wouldn't make it harder to extract the bullets later, but she didn't want her friend bleeding to death. As always, she was just trying to help her stubborn friends!

Quistis, Irvine, and Zell came into view while dragging three bound men behind them.

"We've captured these three, and I see you guys are busy with two more," Quistis yelled to Squall. "Did you see any more people here?"

Squall shook his head in the negative.

Quistis walked over to the man who was magically pinned to the machine with a gust of air, and she was trying to get him down so she could tie him up. She didn't want him getting away the second the spell stopped. She fought against the violent wind, but refused to give up. The mission was almost over and she absolutely didn't want any of these people escaping, no matter what Rinoa was doing.

Selphie continued jumping up and down to try and get Rinoa's attention.

"Rinny please, you gotta drop that guy. I wanna tie him up," Selphie exclaimed. Irvine and Zell came to her side and tried to get Rinoa to pay attention to them. "Let me tie him up FOR YOU!" she yelled.

Squall started towards Rinoa with the intent of talking her down from her rage when he saw another man come towards them with a gun drawn.

"No!" Squall yelled while pushing Rinoa out of the way with his blade drawn. A bullet ricocheted off of Squall's gunblade.

Rinoa was interrupted and her wind spells died away. The man began to fall. Irvine and Zell jumped to catch him before he hit the factory floor.

Rinoa turned towards Squall just as he started charging at the man. Squall took another shot in his leg, but he kept charging. Once Squall was face to face he swung his blade while pulling the trigger, slicing the man in the leg. If Squall had wanted to kill him, he could have, but it was a superficial wound. He quickly toppled, and Squall kicked his handgun away from him before slumping to the floor in a pool of fresh blood.

Squall was winded. He hadn't expected to get shot today, and so many times. Rinoa ran to him and grabbed at his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" she cried. Her voice croaked with distress.

Squall would have thought that seeing his bloody bullet wounds and the fact that was leaving a red trail on the ground would tell her that he was NOT fine.

"I'm fine," he said.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his back.

Selphie ran towards them to tie up the remaining man. She cast a large curative spell on Squall while she was tying up the criminal. She was able to multitask efficiently. She could cure wounds and tie up criminals, all while watching a good Squall and Rinoa reunion.

"Don't mind me, carry on," Selphie said while peeking at them with a smile on her face.

Rinoa and Squall ignored Selphie and the injured man now that the threat had been neutralized. Rinoa's concern was just for Squall and herself.

"I was just so scared," Rinoa sobbed. "And then I saw you get hurt, and then Angelo..." Rinoa gasped. "Angelo!"

She swung her head towards the little room she'd formerly been imprisoned in. She could see black plumes of smoke wafting out of the door.

"ANGELO!"

Rinoa ran to the smoky room. Flames licked up one wall and the situation was quickly degrading. The heat and smoke at the doorway to the room caused Rinoa to choke and cough. Through the smoke and the flames she could make out Angelo in the middle of the room.

"Angelo! come here!" she yelled uselessly into the room.

If Angelo could get up, she would have left on her own.

Rinoa took a deep breath and darted into the room. Once she was inside, it was hard to see, and even harder to breath. It was so hot and smoky. Burning air scorched her nose and throat. She stumbled towards her dog and stooped down to pick her up. She tried to get her arms around Angelo, but she was having trouble grabbing her.

Squall ran into the room with a water spell ready. He tried to douse the flames, but it was already a lost cause. Leviathan might have been able to help, but he didn't have him junctioned. He flung another water spell in the room while he wrapped his arms around Rinoa and Angelo. He pulled them from the burning room.

Squall knew fire could spread easily, but it was amazing to see how a spark could ignite a whole building so quickly. Flames spread throughout that section of the factory, quickly climbing up the walls and igniting boxes, and wooden pallets that were stacked everywhere.

Squall hobbled while dragging a coughing Rinoa and Angelo along with him.

"Everybody out! Now!" he yelled to the others.

He was trying to take command, but his wounds were slowing him down. It didn't help that he was carrying an unconscious dog and dragging an injured Rinoa along too.

Quistis saw him struggling and ran towards them. She quickly and easily scooped up Angelo and slung the dog over her shoulder. She turned to make sure that the SeeDs and suspects all got out of the building safely. The factory seemed to be a lost cause now.

"Drag them out of here," she yelled. "Cut their ankle ties if you have to, but don't let them get away!" she yelled while trotting along with Angelo over her shoulder.

They spotted an emergency exit, and started to head towards it. Evacuation was the only thing left for them. Only Selphie bothered to toss any more water spells at the flames. Nobody couldn't ever say that she didn't try, even though it was a lost cause at that point. She was forever optimistic.

Just as everybody was out of the building, a part of the roof caught fire and started to collapse. Loud creaking, popping, and glass shattering was heard before a large crash sounded from within the building. They'd all made it out in time.

Zell, Selphie, and Irvine dragged their bound captives and herded them into a corner of the factory yard. Quistis walked near them while holding Angelo tightly to her chest. She was pouring curative magic into Rinoa's pet while overseeing the others.

"Head count!" Selphie yelled while making sure all her friends, friend's pets, and criminals were accounted for. She clicked them off one by one by pointing at each other them. "We're good!" she yelled while brushing her sweaty bangs off her face.

Quistis set down Angelo gently on the ground and listened to a pitiful whimper from the dog. She gave the dog a few pats of encouragement and let out a breath of air. She hadn't know she was holding her breath for the dog's sake.

Zell and Irvine stood over their captives, keeping a close eye on them.

"You know what, now that we're out of there, I'm gonna tie your ankles up again," Zell said while taking out some more zip ties. Irvine assisted him. "I can't believe we lived in the same building," Zell muttered to the man with the neck tattoo. He made sure to tie his ankles very tight. Zell was angry these guys had been under his nose the whole time. Anger burned in his veins. "UNBELIEVABLE!" Zell yelled.

"It's okay, just settle down," Selphie said in a quiet voice.

"It's NOT okay!" Zell yelled while swinging his fists. "Rinoa got kidnapped! Squall got shot! Angelo is barely alive and there is an entire building burning down right in front of us!"

Selphie walked up to Zell and wrapped her arms around his side. Irvine went near him and gave him a light pat on the back.

"It'll be okay man. Don't go worrying about everything now that it's over. It's gonna be okay now. She just meant that we're all alive, and that's not nothing to sneeze at. We've been through worse. We did what we set out to do. Maybe it didn't work out the way we planned, but here we are," Irvine said.

Zell relaxed his muscles, but still kept eagle eyes on all the bound captives. What a bunch of jerks. Other than the man with the neck tattoo, they could have been any bunch of guys from the streets of Deling City or anywhere else. They were just wearing normal dark clothes and looked like everybody. It was like a gang of Nidas. Zell shook his fists in anger. They were going to find out these guys' stories and make sure they were prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The Deling City Police Department better do a good job on these people. Zell let out a breath and let his arms hang down. At least the SeeD part of the mission was drawing to a close.

* * *

Squall staggered away from his friends and walked to a less crowded spot in the factory yard. He spotted a stack of splintered wooden pallets by a large metal dumpster, and he walked there and carefully placed Rinoa down on top of them. She unlaced her arms from around his neck as she settled herself, and he collapsed wearily next to her. Tears streamed down her sooty face as she coughed and gasped for air. When she brought her arms up to her face, they covered in dark bruises from the ropes, but more importantly, they were stained with Squall's blood.

"Ugh Squall, you're still bleeding," she said with sob.

"It happens," he rasped with a hoarse cough rattling through his lungs.

"Uh, let me heal you. I think I can do it. It'll probably turn out okay," she coughed with fear flickering in her eyes.

She reached out and grabbed onto his shoulder wound and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. Prickles of electricity started to burn painfully in Squall's wound. He tried to pull away instinctively and put up his hand to stop her.

"No, it's okay, I'll just take another potion. I don't want to get fully healed before the bullets can be removed. I'm not bleeding much anymore. It's okay for now... I just think I'm going to rest here."

"Are... are you sure?" she asked.

Squall gave let out a soft cough while nodding his head at her. He once again laid down on the pallets and looked up at the sky.

Smoke billowed out of the building and ashes lightly rained down. It looked like a Trabian snowfall. The building glowed against the deepening twilight of the summer evening.

 _Mission accomplished,_ he thought bitterly as he looked at the destruction crumbling around them.

He tilted his head and looked up at Rinoa. The light of the flames reflected off of her dark eyes as she silently stared at the burning building she'd almost been trapped in. Squall reached out and placed his left hand over hers and gave it a light squeeze.

Rinoa blinked and looked down at him. His shirt was torn and stained with blood. He'd gotten hurt for her. This wouldn't have happened if not for her actions, at least that was the way she felt at the moment. She started crying again and took hold of his hand and brought it up to her face and kissed it.

"Thanks Squall," she sniffled. "I won't forget this."

She felt the metal of the fake wedding band on his ring finger and carefully slid it off of him. She placed it in her lap and started undoing the chain around her neck. She took his fake wedding ring and placed it on her necklace chain before trying to put it back on.

"I'm going to keep this as a reminder of this mission," she said. "So I'll always remember how you rescued me and..."

"Rinoa, that has SeeD tracking technology in it. You don't actually want to have that on you at all times," he rasped.

"Oh..." Rinoa said with embarrassment while quickly taking the ring off her necklace and trying to put it back on Squall's finger. Tears kept falling from her eyes. She was trying to have a special moment. Stupid SeeD!

Squall felt her fumbling with his hand for a few moments before he lightly took hold of her wrists and pulled her down next to him. A coughing spell wracked his body. Rinoa waited, she could tell he was trying to work something out in his head. It usually took him some time to put something together.

"And I'll always remember this mission because..." he started but then stopped thoughtfully.

Rinoa wasn't the most patient person, and the silence was dragging on too long.

"Because you now have gunshot wounds," Rinoa finished.

"Because..." he started again while ignoring her interjection, "you're safe and back by my side," he whispered hoarsely.

Squall coughed again and started to sit up, but he was stopped as Rinoa flung her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He winced at the pressure on his wounds, but he'd had worse pains.

"I was... " he said and Rinoa pulled back to look at his face. "...I was so worried about you."

His eyebrows furrowed together in a look of distress that melted Rinoa's heart. She quickly leaned in and lightly brushed her dry and cracked lips against his as he was trying to form another sentence. After he didn't push her away, she closed her eyes and kept kissing with more confidence.

 _Wow, he isn't freaking out that I'm kissing him. Even with his friends right here. I better take advantage of his temporary lapse in inhibitions,_ she thought to herself.

She ran her hands through his hair and kept kissing, fairly sure that he was going to make her stop any second. When he didn't, she became suspicious. She became even more shocked as he reciprocated by running his bare hands through her hair.

She let out a gasp as his hands came in contact with the lump at the back of her head she'd received while being kidnapped.

"Sorry," he blurted out, pulling his hands away from her. He was embarrassed that he'd thoughtlessly bumped into the most injured spot on her body.

"It's fine. It really is," she said while pulling him back towards her and trying to resume kissing and cuddling. "I barely even felt that. I think I'm all better now actually."

Squall's eyebrows went up in disbelief as he gave a small shrug, and he let her continue to kiss and fuss all over him.

"Aaaaaw," Selphie's voice cooed in their direction. "This is so romantic! Just like what I'd been imagining all along."

"You were imagining them making out while laying next to a dumpster near a burning factory?" Irvine asked while looking down at Selphie.

"Shut up Irvy! This is magical!" Selphie bit back at him.

Squall's head flicked towards Irvine and he narrowed his eyes at him. As the adrenaline was still in his system, he'd forgotten they had an audience. At least Selphie wasn't recording this.

"Get a room guys," Irvine joked as Squall frowned and tried to sit upright and put Rinoa at a respectable distance away from himself.

"Don't embarrass him," Rinoa hissed under her breath. Her eyes shot daggers at Irvine. Selphie tried to pull Irvine further away while she peeked back at the couple.

 _Irvine is going to get such a scratching later!_ Rinoa thought angrily to herself. _Maybe I can get Selphie to help._

Sirens sounded in the distance. It appeared that Quistis had contacted the proper authorities and the Deling City Police and Fire Departments were going to finish up. The main part of the mission was over. It was successful in some ways, but it wasn't their best work. Everybody would just have to be satisfied that it was over.

Mostly over anyways. They still had to report to Caraway after getting medical attention.

Squall was used to being patched up by doctors, but he really didn't look forward to seeing General Caraway. He flopped backwards onto the wood pallet with a sigh.

End of Chapter 20


	21. Chapter 21

Newlywed Game Chapter 21

Squall stood rigidly while staring down at the old dusty pink carpet in General Caraway's study. His eyes traced a faint pattern of different textures while he was trying to clear his mind. As he continued to lose himself in the rug's intricate design, he wondered if it was antique.

 _Caraway seems like he'd collect objects to show off his wealth,_ he mused.

Squall shook that thought out of his mind. He didn't want to think about Caraway yet. He kept trying to distract himself with the carpet, but it kept reminding him of the man who owned it. He raised his eyes and looked at the bookshelves at the far end of the room while taking a deep breath. The faded smells of cigars tickled at his nose. Their smell was faintly permeating everything, rugs, books, and the upholstery. It was like Caraway had figuratively infused his presence into his study to watch over it even when he wasn't around. Although there probably were cameras in the room watching over them in a more literal sense as well.

Squall let out a small sigh. He really didn't want to think about the coming storm, and it wouldn't do any good to worry about General Caraway right now. Squall just had to follow the procedure that he'd decided on. First he had to show up and look like an accomplished SeeD, and then he had to explain their mission. That was it. There wasn't anything else he could do. The mission had played out the way it had played out, and he just had to accept responsibility for it. So step one, he was concentrating on his appearance while waiting.

Outwardly, Squall looked professional and in control, but he was struggling to hide his weaknesses. For one thing, his body ached, but he couldn't show that. He also was tightly wrapped in bandages, but his neat SeeD uniform concealed them. His blank facial expression also hid his discomfort. The only thing that gave away his injuries were his stiff movements, but he was trying to remain still to hide that as well.

During the raid on the kidnapper's hideout, he'd been shot multiple times. Thanks to some curative field magic and the doctors at Deling City Hospital, he was now doing great. Actually, maybe he wasn't great, but he was alive. And some people might describe being alive as pretty great. He felt tired and slow thanks to all the blood loss, but that was something lots of rest, food, and liquids would cure in time. Not to mention the transfusion of type AB blood he'd received at the hospital.

He should be thankful to the blood donor, but he was bothered that a complete stranger's blood flowed through his body, and it wasn't even from the blood bank at Balamb Garden. It made him feel contaminated. Maybe if he knew the person it wouldn't make him feel so bad.

He glanced towards his team members. Quistis sat sensibly on the green couch with perfect posture while conserving her energy. Zell paced frantically as if he was trying to wear a hole in the carpet. Selphie bounced excitedly while looking out a window, as she was always under the impression that this mission had been a fun summer vacation. Irvine lounged with his dirty boots propped up unprofessionally on Caraway's desk.

 _Maybe it's better that I don't share a blood type with anybody I know. Maybe it's best that it was a stranger's blood,_ Squall thought with unreasonable irritation at his team members.

Garden people all had their quirks, Squall included, and some might say Squall especially. He would have been the first to admit that fact, at least to himself, even if he wouldn't say it out loud. While looking at his friends regress into their personality quirks while nervously awaiting Caraway, he would have been more understanding if he was feeling better, but he was drained and hurting from their mission.

Being in pain made everyone irritable and Squall tended to be stoic, if not somewhat brusque, even in the best of circumstances. At least that is how Squall would describe himself, if he was forced to in a mandatory Garden psychological exam. Luckily for him, those things didn't exist, at least not yet. And anyways, his girlfriend had different opinions on the subject.

Rinoa often described him as a mixture of gruff and stubborn pigheadedness wrapped in a furry little coat. Squall responded to that little tiff by dryly telling Rinoa that he could get rid of his coat if she liked. Rinoa only responded by sticking her tongue out at him before turning and walking away. Squall was pleased that she didn't call his bluff. He didn't actually want to get rid of his beloved jacket, but he WOULD have to prove a point, thus proving her earlier statement about his pigheaded stubbornness.

 _Rinoa,_ he thought.

Once again, Squall had instructed Rinoa to stay away so he could finish the mission. She'd been upset, but he hoped this time she'd listen. It was the least she could do to thank him for rescuing her and getting shot in the process. She'd cried silently when he'd left her at the hospital for extra observation after he had been released. The hospital had kept Squall overnight after extracting the bullets and giving him blood transfusions, and even though Rinoa was in better health than Squall, he talked the doctors into keeping Rinoa longer for observation. It was a precautionary measure because she'd gotten a head injury. She'd probably be released tomorrow.

Squall cared about Rinoa's health, and he was glad the doctors at the hospital agreed that keeping her longer would be a wise decision. It really was in the patient's best interest. That's what he'd told her, but that wasn't his only motivation though. He also wanted to face Rinoa's father's wrath without her. She'd be safe and sound in the hospital while he finished up business. Dealing with her father in this instance was his job, both as SeeD team leader and her knight. So either way, there was no getting out of this for Squall.

 _Rinoa,_ he thought again, but with frustration and sadness.

Squall was getting tired and he just wanted to sit down, but his stubbornness wouldn't let him. They'd already been waiting there for well over an hour, but he wouldn't take a seat like Quistis. He wanted to be standing and ready for when Caraway burst through the door. He knew the general was wanting to agitate them by making them wait. He wouldn't have been surprised if Caraway was looking at them right now through a hidden surveillance camera. In a mansion like this, owned by a man like that, it was a logical assumption.

Squall would show Caraway how professional and strong he was, even if he just wanted to go back to Balamb, lock himself in his room, and curl up on his side and rest. He was trying to keep it together until then. It wouldn't be much longer, he just had to keep his strength up. If he fell apart later when nobody was looking, it didn't count as falling apart. It was like that saying about a tree falling in the woods. If nobody is there to hear it, the tree doesn't make a sound. At least that was his take on that saying.

Squall's eyes wandered over to where Irvine was poking at Caraway's antique metal armillary sphere. Strained metallic squeaks sounded as Irvine tried to reposition the working parts. Squall grit his teeth at the high pitched sounds.

"Hmmm, what do you think Caraway uses this for? Does anybody even know what this thing is?" Irvine spoke aloud.

"It's an armillary sphere," Squall said while hoping that answering Irvine would get him to stop touching it. Irvine never could keep his hands to himself in ANY context.

Irvine gave Squall a puzzled look.

"It's a spherical astrolabe," Squall stated, but Irvine still looked at him quizzically. "It's an instrument that shows the position of celestial objects."

 _Now stop touching it,_ Squall thought while running his hand through his hair.

Irvine returned to Caraway's desk and plopped down to sit. Although Irvine's choice of seat had been bothering Squall, he'd rather he sit down instead of potentially breaking an antique astrolabe.

Just as Squall was starting to relax, the door banged open without warning. General Caraway strode into his study emitting an air of authority like he owned the place. That made sense because he DID own the place, but it came across as being arrogant to Squall nonetheless.

"I'd like to hear your report on this mission," Caraway stated while walking towards his desk.

Irvine scurried to get to the other side of Caraway's desk. The entire team lined up and stood at attention and awaited Fury Caraway's fury.

 _He's fury-ous,"_ Squall thought to himself and the wished he hadn't tried any of the painkillers that had been given to him at the hospital. He didn't want to be loopy in front of Rinoa's father.

"Not only did this mission go on for much longer than expected, it ended with a building being burnt down! What do you people say about that?" Caraway asked. He stood straight and looked down at everybody except Irvine. He would have looked down on Irvine too, but the Galbadian cowboy was too tall.

Although Caraway had asked a question, it was apparent he didn't want anybody to speak yet.

"And Leonhart," he said with his nostrils flaring in disgust while staring down into Squall's face, "I thought we agreed to not involve my daughter in any of this. I believe I made it clear that my daughter has not had your training or upbringing. She's completely different from you people and I didn't want her involved for these very valid reasons. After all, I am a reasonable man."

Caraway's commanding and cold voice silenced the room. The general continued to stare them all down. It took several moments before anybody dared to break the tense stillness.

"She's legally an adult sir," Squall responded. He was the first SeeD to speak in Caraway's presence.

Caraway made a short tsking sound while the lines on his face deepened.

"Yes, she's an adult, but not an adult like you. She doesn't have your training, killer mentality, or survival instincts. She needs to be kept safe and locked away from harm," Caraway stated before taking a deep and exasperated breath.

 _If you lock up somebody like Rinoa very tightly, she'll only rebel. It's only natural. Why else would she have run away and lived in a train with a bunch of jerks?_ Squall thought to himself.

"My daughter is delicate and breakable. I hired SeeD to protect women like her. She's foolishly optimistic and jumps without looking where she is going. She could have been killed." Caraway said sternly.

Squall sympathized with Caraway because he wanted Rinoa to be safe too, but he couldn't condone the way Caraway conducted himself in that regard.

"She's an adult and I don't have authority over her," Squall restated.

 _Although I agree with you that she should have stayed behind at Balamb Garden where she would have been safe. The main difference between our two methods is that I ASKED her and didn't take away her freedom by force._

"And how do you explain that one of the kidnappers lived right under your nose in the same building with your SURVEILLANCE team member?" Caraway asked.

"There were several gang members and they must have been monitoring the comings and goings of people in various neighborhoods. It is likely that they saw Rinoa interacting with people from the same social strata that we were impersonating, and they decided to kidnap her instead of one of our female team members," Squall explained.

"Interacting with you Leonhart?"

Squall clenched his teeth and began to lose his temper. The aches in his body, in addition to the long wait had drained his patience and he did not want to be yelled at.

"Have I been paying you this whole time to be messing around with my daughter?" Caraway continued.

"You contracted us to go undercover so as to apprehend the culprits responsible for the series of kidnappings of wealthy women in Deling City. We did so," Squall responded curtly.

"But YOU..." Caraway started to yell.

The door flew open abruptly and Rinoa burst into the room.

"Don't yell at my friends!" Rinoa yelled. "You always hate all my friends, and I'm so sick of it!"

General Caraway looked up at Rinoa's sudden entrance with vexation, but not with surprise. He knew this would happen, they all did. Squall tried to delude himself while he had been waiting for this meeting, but nobody was surprised one bit.

"Rinoa, they ARE NOT your friends. They are the hired help. How many times have I told you to not try making friends with the hired help?" Caraway responded. "These sorts of people are paid for a service. People don't have to pay friends to be with them."

"They ARE my friends," she responded with a low and angry voice while trying to adjust the hospital bandage wrapped around her head. Her dark hair was uncharacteristically mussed by the positioning of the gauze.

She looked to Squall for back up, but he stayed standing at attention with his eyes forward. He really didn't like getting involved in other people's family matters. He didn't even like getting involved with his own family affairs. Maybe if he ignored these problems, they would resolve themselves somehow.

Rinoa walked up behind Squall and snaked her arms around him. Somehow her touches kept grazing the parts of his body that were in the most pain. He kept staring straight ahead, not giving away anything. Not that he had to give away anything as Rinoa was trying to cuddle up with him in front of her furiously angry father. Since Squall was a regimented military man, he remained as professional as he could, at least on his part.

"My FRIENDS caught the criminals that the Deling City police couldn't, and you shouldn't yell at them." she finished defensively with her arms tightening around Squall's torso.

Caraway and Squall continued to ignore Rinoa's attempts at cuddling and kept glaring at one another. Caraway cleared his voice before continuing.

"Since Rinoa ended up being involved... involved to the point of being the target, that voids the stipulations set up in our contract. Therefore I won't be paying any more gil beyond what I already did at the outset of this mission. The remaining amount will not be paid to Garden," Caraway said.

Squall's face remained immobile, but he was shocked. He was the commander of Balamb Garden and he was getting chewed out by a Galbadian General. And that general was going to do his best to deny the rest of the money that the SeeD operatives had earned by successfully capturing the criminals responsible. Garden was a well funded entity and it wasn't like he was without any other courses of action, no matter what Caraway said, but it was humiliating. A main part of mercenary work was getting PAID.

"We'll see what the Garden lawyers say about that," Squall responded with the tips of his ears turning red as Rinoa continued to squeeze him tightly. He was so uncomfortable being trapped between two strong willed Caraways, or at least a Caraway and a née Caraway, Caraway-Heartilly, or just Heartilly. Squall wasn't sure what Rinoa's legal Galbadian name was. He began to wonder about it and then cursed himself again for taking a painkiller. He had to stay focused, so he concentrated again on the pain Rinoa was aggravating in his wounds. The sharp stings cleared his mind briefly, and he stared back into the general's eyes.

General Caraway narrowed his eyes at Squall and Rinoa one more time before readying himself to leave the room.

"Rinoa, haven't you already gotten in enough trouble for a lifetime? For the last time, stay AWAY from these people," Caraway spoke with exasperated sadness in his voice. "You're always trying to befriend strays, and it's never worked out well for you. If you'd just come to me, I could get you another reliable purebred for companionship."

Even though he'd included all the mercenaries in his not-so cryptic statements, Caraway's eyes only settled on Squall. He turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

The entire room became so quiet they could hear a pin drop. If this had been a normal client, they would have left, but this was Rinoa's house, so they were taking cues from her behavior. She hadn't moved from where she was currently still holding Squall. The only exception was that she had now buried her face into his back.

"Uh..." Zell croaked, trying to think of something nice to say for Rinoa's sake.

"Super-duper awkward," Selphie said quietly. "Like super-duper MEGA..."

"I wanna go home," Rinoa interrupted quickly, cutting off Selphie's comment.

Although they were technically already in Rinoa's home, Squall knew Rinoa felt that her home was anywhere but there.

"Time to get things wrapped up and head back to Garden," Squall said.

He didn't look forward returning to Walter River's apartment to write his mission report for Garden and pack up his stuff, but he just wanted to go home and it needed to be done. He was almost there. Home sweet home. He'd be back there soon.

End of Chapter 21

* * *

Author's notes: Thanks to reviewer "Cinnamond Sand" for the "fury-ous" joke. I've been working on writing the last few chapters for this story. I was still fiddling with them all, but it's been about a month since I last posted, so I thought I should at least post this scene.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is just written for fun.

Chapter 22

Bright Balamb sunlight streamed in through the windows of the Garden conference room. The sun's warmth spread through the chilly air conditioning like a gentle embrace. The comfort and peacefulness soothed the room's current occupants. It was welcome because they were tired, and for a good reason, they'd only recently returned home. Fairly recently anyway. This conference room meeting wasn't set up for immediately after they'd come home. They'd gotten back the previous night, but that was after a long day of train travel. That was exhausting for anybody except Selphie. They were tired, but it was great to be home nonetheless. They only had one more thing to do before they could put this summer nightmare mission behind them. It was time for the mission debriefing.

Everybody was present for the debriefing. There were all the SeeDs, Irvine, Rinoa, and even Angelo and Cookie. They were all gathered around a long rectangular conference table. Irvine and Zell were slumped, while Squall and Quistis were calmly waiting. Rinoa tried to make her office chair recline slightly, but it didn't work and she gave up. She decided to pass the time by swinging her legs underneath the table, but she only ended up kicking Squall in the shins. He didn't even react, he was just waiting for the meeting to begin. The room was mostly still except for the frantic activity of Selphie. She was pacing around the room making last minute checks on her laptop, the projector, and an office cart. Irvine yawned while leaning heavily into his office chair.

"This mission's got me beat," Irvine said while finishing up a big yawn. As soon as he'd gotten back to Garden, he'd gone straight to bed and slept until he'd nearly missed lunchtime the next day. Luckily he'd gotten up in time to grab a late lunch right before the cafeteria had closed.

"Irvy, this mission basically was a vacation," Sephie said with peppy enthusiasm while clicking into her computer program. "Basically it was the best vacation ever," she added. She'd been working on writing up something for this debriefing ever since they'd left Caraway's mansion. She'd been so excited that she had trouble sleeping. She'd been up since early in the morning getting everything set up.

Irvine pushed his cowboy hat back on his head while yawning.

"Well, I need a vacation from this vacation," Irvine said. "I need to recharge myself. Maybe I'll just shut my eyes and listen to your cute little presentation."

"You can go back to sleep after this meeting is over, but NOT BEFORE!" Selphie said loudly while slapping her hand down on the long table in front of her.

The sudden slamming sound was starling, and a small yipping sound came from underneath the table. It sounded like Selphie Tilmitt's, aka Cassidy Pine's, small fluffy dog named Cookie.

Squall took a peek underneath the table and saw the fluffy little dog jump out of Selphie's oversized purse. He grabbed at his forehead and sighed,

"Selphie, no pets at Garden."

Selphie looked over to where Angelo was sitting in the corner like the well trained dog that she was.

"But Rinoa has a pet!" she said while pointing directly at the proof of her statement.

Squall didn't mean to blurt that out in that way. He'd have to be more careful with his phrasing.

"Uh, Angelo isn't a pet. She's a weapon," he said while his face blushed slightly. "And anyways, even if she was a pet, Rinoa isn't a SeeD and she isn't employed by Garden."

"Really, so SeeDs can't have pets?" Selphie asked.

"Yes, that's correct," he answered, thinking that the pet discussion was at an end.

Selphie frowned, but the sadness never touched her eyes. "Hey Rinoa, do you think Angelo would like a new little friend? Since non-SeeDs can have pets and everything."

"Sure!" Rinoa said quickly with a smile. "Angelo would love that," she added while swinging her leg and kicking Squall in the shin again.

"Okay, I guess you'll have to take care of Cookie for me then," Selphie smirked. "But I'll make sure to visit all the time."

Squall let out a huff of breath. He didn't like it when people teased him, especially when Selphie and Rinoa ganged up on him. He decided he'd deal with this at another time, so he just let it go for the moment. He also suspected that a tiny yapping dog like Cookie wouldn't get along well with Angelo, at least he hoped that was true. The issue would have to be dealt with later. Right now they had to do the mission debriefing.

Squall raised his voice slightly and made sure that everybody in the conference room knew that he was addressing them.

"We're here for the official Deling City mission debriefing. We've all written up separate reports before leaving Galbadia, and Selphie has compiled them for today. Selphie, please start the presentation," Squall said.

Selphie went over to the window to draw the blinds, quickly shutting out most of the sunlight. Then she went to the light switch by the door. She slapped the lights off before marching over to the laptop at her spot at the table, where she'd gotten it synched up with the projector. The room was now darkened, but some afternoon light still seeped in through the blinds. It was the perfect lighting for an afternoon nap or a boring office meeting.

Selphie walked over to her laptop and pushed a button and the slide show began. A yellow slide appeared with plain dark brown text on it. It just stated DELING CITY MISSION in all caps. She pushed another button and the slide show progressed. It showed people, aliases, map locations, and mission objectives.

"So General Caraway contracted SeeD to go on an undercover mission in Deling City to uncover a ring of recent kidnappings that were centered around wealthy married women," Selphie started. "So we each assumed new identities to become likely targets so we could locate the gang of people who were perpetrating these acts," Selphie said in a straightforward and monotone voice. "Irvy and I were married and..."

Irvine cleared his throat.

Selphie scrunched up her nose and continued.

"We were PRETEND married, as were Squall and Quistis. Zell was supporting us through surveillance at a third location. But things were pretty uneventful, and we weren't making any progress," Selphie said calmly.

She advanced the slideshow again, but this time it just showed a cute picture of Rinoa blushing while having a candid photo of herself being taken in the cafeteria.

"UNTIL..." Selphie said with a sweet sing-song voice, "Rinoa showed up unannounced and then the PARTY really got started!" She pressed another button and a little animation of confetti started raining down on Rinoa's photo.

"Rinoa's presence was the catalyst we needed for this mission. She really got the ball rolling. She was totally eye-catching to the criminals, not to mention Squall's neighbors who were major gossips. Word got out quickly, but even if it hadn't, she was all around town and in Squall's face! And she even tried to pretend to be Squall's maid," Selphie blurted out quickly. "Nobody believed that she was just a maid! Who would buy that cover? Does she even look like she'd even clean her own toilet? I mean, seriously?" Selphie laughed with her hands on her hips.

"Hey!" Rinoa snapped.

Selphie jumped at Rinoa's interjection and quickly changed topics.

"Oh, and I also got picked up by the police for street prostitution, but we don't need to go over that," Selphie said.

"Pfft," Rinoa huffed.

Selphie pressed a button and a new slide appeared with information about the Deling City Philanthropic Society.

"Okay, well I guess that part was important because I got some information while I was at the police station. I overheard how the kidnappers were targeting people from a certain charitable society. So I learned about that... and I also learned what the name "John" could potentially stand for as well. So it was a very informative night for me overall." Selphie said while nodding her head to herself.

"And then we all joined the society and made sure there was a charitable gala where one of us could get nabbed. I was so excited for it and wanted to be the one who got kidnapped, but Rinoa lucked out and was the 'lady of the evening' that night," Selphie said.

Irvine let out a loud snort, not unlike a horse.

"Sefie, do you know what a 'lady of the evening' means?" Irvine said.

"Yea, she was really important that night," Selphie said while Irvine just shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh Sefie darling."

Selphie ignored Irvine and continued.

"Then Squall went all nuts when he found out Rinoa had been kidnapped. He ran off to find her... eventually... after a little setback..." she said while looking at Quistis. "Then we had to track him to find Rinoa. He totally lost his mind, but in a hot way."

She pressed another button and a photo-montage started up. Interspersed throughout the vacation-like photos were pictures of bound criminals and a burning factory building. There were also a multitude of photos of her dog and Irvine. There were more photos of Irvine sleeping than Squall would have liked for an office meeting. He narrowed his eyes at the screen and then looked back at the real Irvine, who also appeared to be sleeping.

"So anyways," Selphie said, "long story, short. Rinoa got rescued. We caught the criminals. Squall and Rinoa made out by a dumpster. It was the perfect ending to the perfect summer vacation," she said with a flourish. "Except for the part where General Caraway said he wasn't going to pay in full to Garden," she added under her breath.

"The lawyers are still working on that," Squall added loud enough for everybody to hear.

Selphie then walked over to the office cart that was covered by a sheet and wheeled it over. It seemed like it would have office supplies under it, but when she pulled back the cover there was a surprise underneath. It was stocked with frosted lemon cupcakes, candies, fruit, decorative napkins, and bottles of lemonade and tea.

"Well, after ALL THAT, I think we all deserve some refreshments. Dig in everybody!" Selphie announced while pumping her fist in the air. "The cafeteria ladies put this together for us at my request, aren't they the nicest?"

Everybody turned to the refreshment cart with wide eyes. Meetings were never fun, but snacks made everything better. The middle of the afternoon was also a perfect time for snacking. Everybody got up and began helping themselves, except for Squall and Selphie.

Squall walked over to where Selphie had been standing since her presentation ended. She was smiling up at him while awaiting his comments. Feedback was a great way to improve skills. At least constructive feedback was. Maybe. She cringed inwardly.

"Selphie that presentation was... unprofessional," Squall said quietly to her.

She'd been expecting something like that from him.

"Don't worry Commander, I was just trying to give my audience some entertaining showmanship. The compiled reports for the debriefing are 100% professional. I am a SeeD too! I can write boring papers as well as anybody else at Garden, but why should everything be boring all the time?"

She looked up at the continuing slide show of photos, and then reached out and handed a stack of neatly stapled papers into Squall's hands.

"You can even check them yourself before they get filed away to never been seen again... Walter," she whispered.

Squall just nodded his head and turned towards his teammates. Rinoa was peeling back the wrapper from a lemon cupcake before taking a bite and getting a small amount of frosting on her upper lip. Quistis was helping herself to some bottled lemonade and a piece of fruit. Irvine took a small flask out of his jacket pocket and added some to his half drained bottle of lemonade.

"Thank you for the compiled report and presentation SeeD Tilmitt," he said wearily while flipping through her official report. After giving it a brief glance, he was thankful that it didn't have stickers or candid photos in it. The report seemed 100% professional just like she'd said.

Squall shook his head. He should have expected any presentation given by Selphie would resemble her Garden Square social media account, but he didn't realize the mission debriefing was going to turn into an office party... an office party with a little dog running around.

He sighed. He was just glad the mission was over and he was on a separate continent from Rinoa's father... and his own father for that matter. No man was an island, but living on the Island of Balamb was close enough and currently suited him just fine.

Squall decided that he'd been dealing with the office party for long enough, he backed away and slipped out the door. He set out in the direction of his SeeD apartment as pop music started playing from the conference room he'd just left. He was glad to have gotten out of there in time.

Each footstep took him further away from the loud office party and closer to his apartment where he could forget the mission had ever happened. It was time to get back into his normal routine.

As he walked, he noticed that the halls of Balamb Garden were mostly empty. Only a few students were seen at all. It was very peaceful and quiet in the halls. He was glad to not run into anybody because he just wanted to relax.

After a few minutes of his stroll, he thought he heard fast moving footsteps from far off behind him. He naturally slowed down to let the small footfalls catch up with him. It only took a minute for the person to catch up to him. He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was going to be.

"Wait up! Just where do you think you're going?" Rinoa asked him while hastily finishing off another lemon cupcake.

"Back to my apartment to rest," he explained. "I haven't been back there yet. I was talking with Cid nearly all night and I ended up just collapsing on my office couch. I feel like a mess and I want a shower and some sleep."

"You haven't been back yet?" she said with her mouth wide open. "They work you too hard. YOU work YOURSELF too hard."

Squall became quiet as they continued back towards Balamb Garden's living quarters. Rinoa didn't turn down the corridor where her room was located.

"Your room is that way," Squall said.

"I know. I'm going to your place. I'm going to supervise and make sure you get food and rest, and anything else you might need. Because apparently you need somebody to make sure that you do those sorts of things," she said while tossing her cupcake liner into a nearby trash bin.

Squall just breathed out heavily and didn't argue. Arguing with her would be a pointless waste of breath.

"Don't worry. I'm going to take good care of you. You took good care of me on this mission," she said while wrapping her arms around his bicep.

Once they reached his door, he swiped his keycard before entering. His mouth opened in shock as he walked inside. His formerly immaculate apartment looked like a mess!

He ducked his head and looked side to side. It looked like somebody had been in his apartment, but after a brief survey, it was obvious that nobody was there anymore. They were safe.

"Did somebody break in while I was away?!" he whispered.

Rinoa put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh no! I completely forgot! I'm so sorry Squall! When you were gone I got lonely and hung out here with Angelo. I meant to clean up after myself. That was a pretty long time ago, and I forgot all about it."

Of course Rinoa was the one who had done this.

Squall sighed and walked further into his apartment. He threw his stack of papers down on his coffee table and walked into his bedroom. His bed was unmade with his beloved fur lined leather jacket tangled up in the sheets. The bed seemed to be covered in food crumbs and dog hair. It wasn't the worst mess, but it wasn't what he'd wanted to come home to.

"What were you doing in my bed?" he asked.

"Uh... I was just... hanging out with Angelo..." she said in a quiet voice.

"With Angelo AND a bunch of snacks?" Squall said with an eyebrow raised at her while pointing at the mess.

"Yea, well you can't have a proper pity party without snacks and a pet," she explained with a sheepish smile.

Squall shook his head. He was slightly amused, but mainly annoyed. He furrowed his brows suddenly.

"You didn't have anybody else in here with you?" he asked. The thought of Xu or anybody else poking through his stuff horrified him.

Rinoa held her hands up in the air.

"No! I was the only person here. Well, besides Angelo," she said.

Squall relaxed. He didn't like his privacy being invaded, but for some reason Rinoa's intrusions into his life weren't entirely unpleasant, even if they were messy and frustrating.

He looked around his apartment and remembered that he'd left his mission luggage up in his office. He'd deal with it later. He didn't want to wear Walter River's clothes. He wanted to wear Squall Leonhart's clothes again. That would make him feel better.

He marched over to his bed and started stripping the sheets. Crumbs rained down all over the floor. The bed obviously needed clean sheets if he was going to rest comfortably later that night. He didn't want to wake up with stale crumbs stuck to his skin.

"Uh, do you want me to help you clean up?" Rinoa asked.

"No. Why don't you just go back to your own room to rest," Squall said while continuing to unmake his bed.

Rinoa ignored him and started picking up his apartment. She felt that she really should since she'd been the one to mess up everything. Squall needed the place to be somewhat clean before his brain would allow him to unwind. She wanted him to be able to rest. She went over to a wastebasket and picked it up and started going through the apartment throwing away trash.

"Why don't you go take a long hot shower and get changed. I'll keep straightening your apartment up for you," she said.

"It's fine, I'll just..."

"DO IT!" she said loudly.

Squall sighed and dropped his sheets, before turning to go to his bedroom closet. He needed clothes to wear once he was done with his shower. He grabbed a soft white t-shirt and a pair of black track pants along with some socks and underwear.

"And don't come back out here until you are all clean and relaxed!" she yelled.

 _Being yelled at is a great way to relax,_ he thought while closing the bathroom door behind him. He was about to turn on the water when he suddenly walked back to the door and made sure it was tightly locked. Once he was sure nobody was going to walk in on him, he felt that he could have a long relaxing shower.

* * *

Squall left the steamy bathroom feeling refreshed and relaxed. He felt like he'd just stood under the hot water for hours, but in actuality it was only 20 minutes. That was a luxuriously long time to him, but Rinoa was surprised he was out so soon.

She'd been rushing to clean up, but she'd only just found the spare set of clean sheets for his bed. She'd been wrestling with getting the fitted sheet stretched over the mattress, and it was very uneven. While Squall walked towards her she tried to hurry by pulling tighter on the sheet. The popping sounds of a few stitches breaking made her stop.

Squall just walked up and helped her get the fitted sheet on the bed properly. He made sure the corners were lined up and the bedding was tightly stretched and even.

"Wow, that looks so nice," Rinoa remarked. "It's like you were taught how to make beds from a hotel maid."

Squall looked up at her with furrowed brows. His eyes held hers with a look of disbelief from behind his wet floppy hair.

"Hotel maid? Rinoa, this is a military institution. I've been taught how to make a bed according to military regulation. I've been doing this since I was a child."

She put her hands up in the air defensively.

"Why is it so important to make a bed in a certain way?" she asked.

"It's important because..." Squall faltered. He tried to think why it would matter. Why would making a bed matter? "It's a regimented discipline. Like getting up early and having polished boots." That sounded like a good reason to him, it might have even been the real reason. He wasn't sure. His early memories from Garden were hazy at best.

There was still some general tidying to do. There were still dirt tracks and crumbs everywhere. They both got to work, but this time it went much faster now that Squall was helping.

* * *

A few hours later they had ended up on his couch. Relaxed, full, and happy, or at least content. Squall had been gone for a long period of time and he didn't have anything fresh to eat. A can of soup with crackers didn't sound appealing to either of them, so they decided that pizza delivery would be the best option. And after relaxing on the couch with the delicious smell of pizza still in the air, it really was the best option.

Squall looked around his apartment. An empty cardboard pizza box laid on his coffee table next to a large lit candle. It cast soft shadows throughout the room. The deepening twilight mixed with the candle light soothed his strained eyes and lulled him into a state of relaxation he hadn't experienced in quite some time.

Rinoa scooted closer to Squall's relaxed form on the black leather couch. She nervously tucked pieces of hair behind her ears before trying to speak.

"I'm sorry for all the things that went wrong with this mission," she mumbled. "I just meant to go on a little visit to my friends in Timber. You remember Zone and Watts right? So I was thinking that since Deling City was sorta near Timber, that I could go there too."

 _Zone and Watts. Are they still alive?_ Squall thought to himself.

"How are they doing?" Squall said out loud.

"Uh," Rinoa sputtered.

"What? Are they okay?" Squall asked while thinking their stupid luck had run out and they'd gotten themselves killed.

"OH! Yea, they're fine!" Rinoa said loudly. "Well, I think they're fine. I actually didn't even end up visiting them at all."

Squall looked up towards the ceiling while running his fingers through his hair. He let out a deep breath.

"Yea, oops. I guess I haven't been a very good friend to those guys since I met you," she said sadly with a cringe. "I mean, I'm sure they're fine though. They're good at surviving. "

Rinoa let out a deep and sad breath. She felt like a jerk for forgetting about Zone and Watts again. She crept closer to Squall and put her head on his shoulder with a sigh. After he didn't pull away, she went forward and buried her face into the front of his shirt.

"I know you wanted me to stay away, but it was so awful being lonely without you. I know it sounds crazy, but when you left it felt like you were never coming back. You don't know how terrible it is to be all alone."

 _I know._

"All I really wanted..." she said while wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, "... was to be with you," she breathed into his ear.

 _I know._

"I'm sorry I always need to be rescued," she said quietly.

"Rinoa... I... I think..." Squall started.

Rinoa leaned into him expectantly.

"...you need to take self-defense lessons," he finished.

"What?!" she said. That wasn't what she thought he was going to say. She pushed herself away while looking up at him.

"I know we've done sorceress-knight training sessions together, but maybe you need more training. I know you aren't a SeeD, but it wouldn't hurt to take some private lessons with Zell. You could learn how to defend yourself without magic or a weapon. You'd be more alert and aware of your surroundings too. You'd be less vulnerable."

"So you basically want me to sign up for a women's self-defense class?" Rinoa asked. "Learn how to do some crotch kicking?"

"I said private lessons... with Zell... your friend."

"You think I can't handle myself?"

"It's just that..." Squall started.

"I'm a powerful sorceress and you think I can't handle myself?" she said with her voice raising. She was angry that he'd spoiled the romantic mood that was in the air. At least it had been in the air until he'd changed the subject.

"... I want you to be better prepared... for the next time you go on a mission with me," he finished.

Rinoa's mouth shut suddenly. She was shocked by what she'd just heard. The room was silent for a few moments.

"Squall, I don't believe it. You're inviting me on your next mission?" she said with sweetness in her voice. She pulled closer to him and rewrapped her arms around his neck.

"I didn't say I was inviting you, but I'm pretty sure you're going to show up anyway," he said with a small smile in the corner of his lips. "You seem to hate being alone."

"Oh you!" she said while giving him a playful punch to his shoulder.

He winced and the color drained out of his face.

"Oops! Gunshot wound! Sorry!" she yelped.

"I'm fine," he said. "It's not like you've had any martial arts lessons with Zell yet," he said while regaining his breath.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Silence filled the room once more and they settled into a quiet contentment. Squall hoped the relaxed peacefulness would last.

"Squall, do you have anything sweet for dessert?"

He sighed. The quiet didn't last long.

"We just ate a whole pizza, and you're still hungry?"  
"Well, I just want something little and sweet. Do you have anything around here?"

"There still might be cookie crumbs laying around my bedroom," he said dryly.

Rinoa reached out to smack his shoulder again but he caught her by the hand instead.

"Don't," he reminded her.

He pulled her back down before releasing her hand.

"Oops, sorry. I forgot about how injured you were. Where can I touch you that won't hurt?"

Squall was silent for a moment and pointed to the scar in between his eyes.

"Here," he said. "You can touch here. I don't have much feeling here anymore."

Rinoa let out a laugh. She thought he was joking.

"Never mind," he said as he crossed his arms and looked away from her.

"Wait, you can't feel YOUR FACE?" Rinoa asked with disbelief.

"I didn't say that. I said I couldn't feel right where the scar was. I mean, sometimes I get a shooting pain there, but it's mostly numb otherwise."

"You really should see a doctor about that," she said with concern.

"I already saw Dr. Kadowaki the day it happened. Don't worry it's fine," he replied.

"There are other doctors you know," she said with annoyance. "Maybe you can find one that isn't used to so much carnage. Or maybe you can get a plastic surgeon to help with..."

"No," Squall said.

"If you can't feel your face, can you even feel when I'm kissing you?"

"I told you it's just that ONE part of my face. I'm AWARE when you're kissing me," he said while turning red, partly from embarrassment, partly from anger.

"Aware, huh?" she responded while crawling closer towards him. She leaned in and gave him a little kiss right between the eyes. He sighed.

"I told you that's the ONE part of my face where I don't..."

She smirked and quickly leaned in for another kiss while wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. This time she pretended to kiss his forehead, but then ducked down and caught him on the lips. After a few moments of kissing she pulled back.

"How was that?" she asked with her eyes half closed.

"Marginally better," he responded with a shrug.

"Squall!" she complained with a laugh. "Oh well, I can't be too upset with you. I'm just so happy that you're going to willingly let me come on a mission with you. I'm so excited!"

End of Chapter 22

* * *

I'm wrapping this up. There's just an epilogue left. And the part where Selphie was wanting to keep a pet was taken from one of my comics I made. It's over on my tumblr. In the comic it was a cat though.


	23. Epilogue

(Disclaimer: I don't own these Final Fantasy characters. This is just for fun.)

Epilogue

Sunlight filtered through the windows and warmed Squall's back. Summer was coming to an end, but Balamb always had an abundance of sunshine. It was a beautiful day to be outside or to enjoy a vacation, but Squall found himself in his usual place doing his usual routine. He was finally back in his office with nothing but Garden paperwork to go over. It had been a few weeks since his last mission ended and he was still playing catch up. He normally would have been frustrated by being stuck in his office, but today he was glad to be back to his normal schedule.

While reading a mission report his eyes flicked up towards his black leather office couch with interest. A form on the couch shifted, and the leather creaked under the weight.

 _She sleeps in everyday and she still needs naps?_ Squall thought with frustration.

Rinoa turned over and glared at Squall. She swung her legs over and sat up properly.

"I'm not sleeping, I'm resting!" she said defensively.

 _Oops,_ Squall thought while kicking himself mentally. Sometimes he forgot she had sorceress powers.

"I'm just really sore," she said while stretching out her arms and legs. "All the training I do with you combined with the lessons I'm taking with Zell is making me ache all the time. I'm so sore and uncomfortable. I didn't realize how many muscles I had until I started hurting them all."

She let out a sigh while tipping her head back and staring at the ceiling. She arched and stretched her back gently. Sometimes Rinoa reminded Squall of a big lazy cat. She was like an office pet that kept him company during the day.

"Drink some water and try to walk it off," Squall offered while looking back down at his paperwork.

Rinoa let out a huff of breath while smoothing out her dark hair behind her shoulders.

"Thanks a lot for that helpful advice Dr. Gym Instructor," she said. "No pain, no gain. If it's not hurting, you're not doing it right," she added in a mock masculine voice.

Squall looked up from what he was reading.

"Are you really in pain? Should I take you to Dr. Kadowaki?"

"Well, not pain exactly. I'm just all-over sore. Like a whole body soreness. I don't think Dr. Kadowaki is needed for this... but I'm sure my pains could be eased by some nice warm..."

"Compresses?" Squall offered.

"...hugs and maybe a little bit of tender loving care from my boyfriend," Rinoa finished.

He turned back towards his paperwork. Rinoa kept staring at him as he worked, waiting for a response. Squall finally stopped reading and looked up at her.

 _Maybe later,_ he thought at her.

That wasn't the response she was wanting, but it was better than nothing. She went back to laying down on his office couch.

"Do you need any help with what you're doing?"

"No," he answered while continuing to work.

Rinoa was undaunted by his response.

"I have lots of ideas for Garden, maybe I could run some of them by you. I know the Training Center needs to be restocked all the time. Mostly due to you actually, but maybe it wouldn't need as frequent restocking if people didn't kill the animals. Maybe people should just... I don't know... knock them out or something. It seems kinda mean to just kill them."

"But we are learning how to kill things, that's what we do here," Squall answered. "And Garden is very efficient you know. It's not like the animals are going to waste, what do you think are in the hot dogs they serve in the cafeteria?" he asked her.

Rinoa stared at him with an open mouth.

"You're joking right? That's a joke? That better be just a joke! Squall making a joke ha ha," she said while her eyebrows knit with discomfort. Garden was capable of anything in her opinion.

"When do I ever joke?" he asked while maintaining a straight face.

Rinoa shrugged off his comments and hoped he was just teasing her.

"Well, you have to be careful about killing everything. I'm telling you, one of these days the T-Rexaur is going to end up going extinct!"

 _Probably due to you Squall,_ she thought at him with a mock glare.

Squall looked up and returned her glare. He tried to look as cold and commanderly as possible, but he was never able to put off Rinoa. He eventually broke their staring contest by smiling faintly at her. She gave him a little pink lipped smile in return.

 _He was just teasing me. Flirting actually. They'd never serve us monsters in the cafeteria, right? I'm pretty gullible to believe even for a moment that..._

Suddenly a loud ringing sound interrupted her thoughts. Squall looked over to his office phone and signaled for Rinoa to stay quiet while he answered it.

"Commander Leonhart speaking," he spoke out loud as he picked up the phone.

Rinoa leaned forward on the couch, but she couldn't hear anything other than Squall's side of the conversation.

"Hiya son, I mean Squall... I mean Commander Leonhart," spoke Laguna Loire. "I'm calling to make a request for SeeD. It's pretty urgent."

Squall wanted to huff out a deep breath in annoyance, but he didn't want Rinoa to know who he was speaking to yet.

"I understand," Squall said in his most professional tone.

"You do?" Laguna asked. He was expecting more of a fight with Squall over this. "I need SeeD protection for myself... Actually I would only need one SeeD... for a few days or maybe a week. I don't want to make a huge fuss."

Squall knew Laguna was just wanting to see him without asking for it directly. He wasn't that bold, so he'd been making up ruses to get Squall to come to Esthar. If Squall didn't have so much pent up resentment for the man, he might have described his attempts at getting together with him as being 'cute.'

"I can assign an A ranked SeeD to protect you," Squall answered. "Top level protection."

"Thanks, that sounds great," Laguna spoke through the phone. Squall could hear Laguna's smile through the lift in his voice.

"I'm sure SeeD Selphie Tilmitt would love to accept this mission sir," Squall responded.

Squall smiled as he could hear Laguna sputtering on the other end.

"Yeah, uh no... maybe... uh... I think there has been a miscommunication. When I said that I needed a SeeD, I really meant that Ellone needed SeeD protection. And you know how particular Ellone is. She probably would prefer... um... YOU..." Laguna finished with desperation.

"You are specifically requesting me for this mission?" Squall asked Laguna directly.

"Yes son, I mean Commander. I would believe that you'd be the best choice for this mission. Ellone would love to see you. She misses you and would love to spend some more family time with you. I'm just... I mean... she's just too embarrassed to ask you outright. So this mission would be great. She'd get to be protected... because she NEEDS it for... the thing... that she's doing... and you guys could hang out together. It'd be like grilling two birds on one stone."

Rinoa had not been able to hear anything other than what Squall was saying. She stood up from where she was sitting and ran up to Squall's desk.

"Are you going to go on a mission again so soon?" she asked in a loud whisper. "Don't leave me behind! I've been practicing with Zell. I can totally go with you! PLEASE?!"

"I believe I would be able to accept this mission, but I might need to bring along a consultant," Squall answered Laguna while nodding at Rinoa.

Rinoa hopped up on down on the tips of her toes. She couldn't believe Squall was willingly letting her come along on a mission. He knew she could fight alongside him. He was taking her seriously. She'd be careful, she wouldn't lose control of her powers. She could deal with danger and be levelheaded, mostly.

"Huh? Consultant?" Laguna asked.

"Yes, a consultant and her dog," Squall answered.

"Oh, you mean Rinoa? Haha, don't worry, she's welcome to come along too. This is going to be a great reunion," Laguna said with happiness radiating out of his voice.

Squall cleared his throat.

"I mean, this is going to be a great mission," Laguna finished.

"Email me your specific request with dates and times, and I will get back to you. We'll keep in touch," Squall said.

"Thanks a bunch. I'm looking forward to seeing you in Esthar. Talk to you later," Laguna said before hanging up.

Squall set down his phone and looked up into Rinoa's beaming face. This was the perfect "mission" to try out taking Rinoa along with him. There wouldn't be any danger, and he could get used to taking her along as something other than a Garden client.

Squall was even somewhat surprised at himself for accepting the mission. He was always so irritated by Laguna, but he did want to see Ellone badly. He thought after the end of the war that she'd want to be around him more, but they'd barely seen each other. For some reason she wanted to spend all her time with "Uncle Laguna." His feelings stung because of that. He'd have thought that she would have wanted to spend some time with her long-lost brother as well.

He didn't know what Ellone saw in Laguna. It was like he was her hero, even though he'd been missing from most of her life. How did she see him that way with everything that had happened to her? When Squall looked at Laguna, all he saw was a lucky screw-up whose luck didn't extend to the people around him. Raine had died. Ellone and Squall had been lost. If anything, he drained the luck out of people nearby. Nobody should be as lucky as Laguna. Other people had been hurt, scarred, lost their voice, and even died, but Laguna had survived and thrived. He survived falling off a cliff and countless other stupid encounters, and not to mention that he became president of the world's most high tech country through his bumbling antics even though he was foreign born. Yes, he didn't see what Ellone saw in Laguna, but Squall would make her like him again. If she liked Laguna, she'd like him too. He'd reconnect with her on this fake mission.

"Squall? Squall? Are you even listening to me? Hello?" Rinoa said while waving her hand in front of his face.

Squall's mind had been wandering wildly after his conversation with Laguna. He hadn't even noticed that Rinoa had been speaking.

"Squall, are you okay? You really zoned out there for a minute," Rinoa said.

"Oh, I guess I had a lot on my mind. I was just thinking about the mission," he replied quietly.

"So about this mission. We're both going to go on a it together, right? I'm so excited! Is it dangerous? I'm finally going to get to use all my training. I'm all tough and strong now. I'll show you. Where are we going and what are we doing?"

"I'll tell you about it when we're on the way there," Squall said. "But make sure to pack your best weapon and some powerful items, you're going to need them," he lied while she bounced on her heels excitedly.

Squall didn't consider himself a liar, but the first thing he'd ever said to Rinoa was definitely not true. And this wasn't so much as a little lie about dancing ability as it was a prank. Not even a prank, it was a surprise. Women loved surprises and spontaneity didn't they? He wasn't sure. Maybe she would think it was flirtatious. Either way, he figured people loved vacations, and after their previous summertime mission/fake vacation, they needed a real vacation. They were just going to Esthar to see his estranged father and long lost sister. Sure, Rinoa would be blindsided at first, but she probably would have fun when she found out the mission wasn't real and it was just to see his family. She wouldn't be angry at all. She always wanted him to get to know Laguna better. She'd like the surprise he'd set up, and she'd think it was fun that he'd loosened up and teased her a little bit. That's right, she wouldn't be angry because it was a great spontaneous idea.

What could possibly go wrong?

Squall Leonhart did not understand women.

The End

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm sad this is over, but I had fun. I hope you guys had some fun too. I had no idea this was going to be so long. Thanks for sticking around to the end! And thanks for all the nice reviews, they made me smile!


End file.
